Top 10 for healthcare consumers
From revenue-cycle management vendor QuadraMed comes this “Top 10” list of reasons why consumers should care about health information technology (drumroll, please):
10. Health information technology improves the quality of care received.
9. Health information technology is critical in the event of a nation-wide emergency.
8. Health information technology increases accountability from providers.
7. Health information technology prevents medical errors and saves consumers’ lives.
6. Health information technology can empower consumers to make smarter healthcare decisions.
5. Health information technology saves consumers money.
4. Health information technology allows nurses to spend more time with patients.
3. Health information technology increases the health of the entire American population.
2. Health information technology keeps hospitals profitable.
1. Health information technology decreases billing errors.
A PDF of this list is available here.
As always, I invite your comments.
Necessary, but not sufficient.
Howdy. My company, LiveProcess, focuses on emergency preparedness and response for healthcare. We see a huge value in HIT in terms of being able to evacuate patients and transfer them between facilities.
or, in other words, IT does for healthcare what IT has been doing for other industries for twenty years. I think it’s great to see that physicians, payers and patients are beginning to understand the benefits ( http://healthtech.accordingtome.com/2007/06/21/the-problem-with-healthcare/ _
The list seems a bit self serving. While many of the benefits can be linked to appropriate use of technology, the mere use of technology without a solid understanding of its application can simply raise cost, reduce provider availability, and make care more mechanical.What is important for consumers is to have incentives focused on generating positive health/ service outcomes– and where technology enables those solutions, it truly becomes a worthwhile proposition for everyone.