From the October 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

By Bipin Thomas

This article is the second part of a three-year technology road map series. There are a large number of participants and stakeholders who will play important roles in the new health care ecosystem, and who must adapt to its new consumer-centric imperative in concert with one another. Medical device companies, home health enterprises, employers, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and many others will need to be connected and exchange data seamlessly. The success of this massive new undertaking will clearly hinge on continuous advances in data intelligence.

Payers
Because of the mandatory sharing of electronic health records, payers can access claims from any health insurer, which lets them understand consumer demand and motivations. Using analytics, payers could identify effective interventions according to demographic data, and set financial incentives that would prompt beneficial behavioral and lifestyle changes.



Pharmaceuticals and life sciences
Promoting access to clinical research trials, big data will help clinicians apply those results to optimizing treatment plans and translating scientific studies into better patient outcomes.

Wellness (lifestyle/behaviors)
In the area of wellness, consumers can comb social media posts for self-reported data and gather peer-to-peer intelligence, comparing those sources with information from mobile monitors and telehealth metrics to learn more about pathologies and health among distinct populations.

Medical devices
Medical devices are true drivers of the overall paradigm shift: connectivity and interoperability are crucial to a fully contextualized electronic medical record. Here is where government regulation has major influence (think of CMS’ “Meaningful Use,” for instance).

Second-year technology road map
In the second year, hospitals must engage and integrate other external stakeholders such as pharmacies, primary care clinics, community-based clinics and home health agencies as an extension of their health system. Health care organizations that already participate in these types of relationships can seek opportunities for deeper engagement that can achieve strategic goals.

Hospital decision-makers must also be transparent about how the organization is motivating people and keeping them healthier through various interventions, clinically and financially. To achieve this transparency, hospitals should develop patient-facing systems to offer a comprehensive view of integrated care delivery. This year will call for a structural transition from capital to operating expenditures and development of a comprehensive road map to IT transformation.

October 2016 Magazine

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