A few weeks ago I promised to provide a recap of the privacy debate between Howard Burde, Esq. and Dr. Deborah Peel at HIMSS Advocacy Day. Well, as you might imagine, I’ve been a bit sidetracked with other matters since then. I finally have a few moments to focus on the debate topic and am pleased to provide you with a report, albeit a late one.
As I predicted, the debate was very informative and quite lively. It featured Howard and Deborah offering well-informed opinions on a wide variety of privacy and security related issues. Even the questions from audience members were impressive, indicating that the privacy issue is one of great concern to a lot of people out there.
It would take a month’s worth of blog entries to adequately recap the debate. Again, on each topic Howard and Deborah were very well spoken and obviously well prepared. If I had to summarize, I don’t think I would be doing either of them too much of an injustice by saying Deborah’s position is, essentially, that as health IT moves forward, there needs to be a distinct congressional definition of what privacy is and legislation with built in assurances that individuals have a right to that privacy. It may come as no surprise to you that Howard’s argument was one I happen to share and have expressed in this space quite frequently: the biggest threat to the health care system is not the misuse of information, but the non-use of it.
As Howard said during the debate, there unfortunately are people out there who are going to try and obtain personal health information and use it for undesirable purposes. That doesn’t mean we need to halt or entirely re-think the entire health information exchange system. We simply need to ensure that those who do misuse information are punished. And we do. To echo Howard’s sentiment from the debate: we don’t stop building roads because some people drive drunk. We punish the drunk drivers and continue building roads because of the tremendous benefits they bring to the rest of our law-abiding society. The same is true with health information exchange. Too much good is at stake to compromise progress for perceived weaknesses in the system. And we can address the weaknesses while we move forward. We’re never going to have a system that everyone thinks is perfect. Just as the non-use of information is more detrimental than the misuse of it, so do I believe that slow, considered progress is better than none at all.
Those who read this blog with any regularity or otherwise follow the goings on here at MEDecision by now are well aware of Wednesday’s announcement that we have signed a merger agreement pursuant to which we will be acquired by Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). Needless to say, this is an extremely significant milestone in the life of our company and one about which I’m very excited.
As I assured our employees and customers on Wednesday, this is a tremendously positive development for both MEDecision and its clients. The merger agreement represents incredible possibilities for us. Perhaps more importantly, it underscores the value of the collaborative health care management solutions we’ve developed and validates our vision for the health care industry. HCSC is a company that shares that vision. Having worked very closely with them for 14 years, I’m completely satisfied that our goals and ambitions for health information technology are almost perfectly aligned. I feel very strongly that we can do outstanding things working together as part of the same family; things that neither entity wouldn’t probably be able to accomplish on its own.
For me, one of the key aspects of the transaction is that, after it closes, MEDecision will remain an independent company dedicated to the needs of all health plans and will maintain its own brand identity. I think this is vital as we continue to pursue the development and implementation of our new Alineo™ and Nexalign™ solutions. We recognize that our customers value our track record of innovation and our commitment to creating market-leading products. This agreement only strengthens our ability to provide those next generation solutions. Moreover, it sets the stage for the next phase in our company’s history and growth.
Indeed, Wednesday was a good day for MEDecision. A very good day. And I think it’s the first in a long series of even better days ahead of us.
The 14th Annual MEDecision User Conference is officially “in the books.” As usual it was an extremely busy (and quite exhausting) week for hosts and attendees alike, but it never ceases to amaze me how valuable these few days together with our clients are. We got a lot of excellent feedback this week – good and not-so-good, to be honest – that will directly impact where we’re headed in the future and how we get there. I’m confident that our clients can make the same claim – all of the various sessions in our business, clinical and technical tacks were very well attended and, I’m told, featured a lot of really good dialogue. That alone is cause to consider this year’s event a resounding success. The camaraderie, relationship building, exchanges of ideas, food and fun were icing on the proverbial cake. My thanks to everyone who attended the conference this year and, most especially, to the MEDecision folks who did their usual outstanding job of making sure the event ran like a well-oiled machine.
I would be remiss if I didn’t say a few words about Thursday’s keynote presentation from Dr. Bill Gerardi of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). He asked a question many of us in this industry have probably never thought to stop and ask ourselves; one that, perhaps, we should take time to contemplate now and then: Why do we do what we do? The short answer, as Bill so aptly and succinctly pointed out, is quite simple: Because it’s important.
What we do is important. Very important. Bill made the point that, while he was impacting people’s lives as a practicing physician, he’s now making a positive difference for even more folks through his work at HCSC. No matter the specific role, those of us who work in health care ultimately do contribute to a greater good that is vital to the well being of millions of people. I’d say that’s pretty important, and something we should all bear in mind as we work together to improve the system for everyone.
Congratulations to WEA Trust for winning the Second Annual MEDecision Innovation Award! WEA is a not-for-profit corporation that provides Wisconsin public school employees and their families with a full array of insurance and financial products. The company won the award for its innovative use of our clinical programs technology, which has enabled WEA to discontinue the outsourcing of its disease management processes for maternity programs. It has also allowed the company to create an internal management program called Club Mom, which has helped WEA assess pregnant members and identify those who may be at risk for high-risk pregnancy.
The Innovation Award is something we started at last year’s User Conference. It recognizes the organization that implements a MEDecision product or technology in the most unique and/or innovative way. Award finalists and the winner are selected by the User Conference Committee, a group of MEDecision employees and customer representatives charged with planning and executing the event. This year’s finalists included Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
Congratulations to WEA, the finalists and all who submitted entries. Keep up the innovative work!!
As it normally does, our annual User Conference got off to a busy start today – and then some. Highlights included some outstanding keynote presentations, a very informative look at the state of the care management industry, a really insightful overview of MEDecision’s product development activities over the past year and an evacuation. Caused by a bagel, no less. Turns out a burnt bagel set off a fire alarm that sent all Park Hyatt occupants outside for a few moments – or at least that was the story we heard. Luckily, it’s a gorgeous day here in Philadelphia today so no one really minded the inconvenience. Rest assured the all-clear was sounded shortly thereafter and everything returned to normal.
So about those presentations…the general keynote came from Joe Marlowe, senior vice president of Aon Consulting, the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting. Joe’s presentation was titled “Paradigm Shift: New Frontiers in Employee Health.” It took a look at the increasing importance employers are placing on employee health, with the implication that care management is key in accommodating this growing demand. As Joe said, there is a shift underway from ROI to VOI, or value on investment.
In her “State of the Industry” discussion, our Director of Solutions Marketing Robyn Fritz did an excellent job of taking a look at evolving market needs and explaining how MEDecision is continuously innovating to meet them, particularly over the past year with the development of Alineo and Nexalign. This was a great lead-in to Vice President of Product Management Mary Boyle’s detailed look at what went into the design of the two solutions and some of the things coming down the pike in the way of upgrades and new releases. I thought both Robyn and Mary did a fantastic job of condensing subject matter that could be parsed for days into very informative, succinct presentations.
The clinical keynote address came from Dr. Alice Stollenwork Petrulis, CMO of KePRO, a Harrisburg, PA-based health care management company. Alice talked about the current state of case management and where it should be headed in the future. Essentially, patients want and need assistance managing what Alice referred to as the maze of health care. It’s up to all of us in the health care industry to find ways to use integration, coordination and collaboration to help them navigate the system.
Clearly, a lot of good information bandied about today. And these are just the briefest of highlights of the main sessions. There was a whole lot more going on that I haven’t covered – but thankfully no more alarms or evacuations. More to come…
Health care is well on its way into the Internet age. That was the leading message at yesterday’s 5th Annual MEDecision Chief Medical Officer Forum. Keynote speaker Dr. James Mault, director of Microsoft’s health solutions group, told the gathering of senior medical executives from various nationwide health care organizations that major initiatives have already begun to revolutionize health care through technology in much the same way banking and retail have adapted to new mediums. Dr. Mault predicted that the technical transformation in health care would take hold within the next three to five years and said the private sector would spearhead the necessary data portability and interoperability efforts. Eventually, Dr. Mault said, consumers will manage their health care via the Internet in much the same way they engage with financial institutions online. He challenged those in attendance representing health plans: “Do you want to be the only bank in town that doesn’t offer online banking?”
Other speakers included Dr. Sarah Corley, CMO of NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a provider of computer based practice management and electronic medical records systems, who outlined an initiative that NextGen and MEDecision have begun to produce an electronic health record that combines health care payer, care management and physician data on an individual patient basis. In addition, Drs. Jim Barr and John Nevins of Partners in Care gave an engaging and interactive overview of their organization’s efforts — modeled after the Patient-Centered Medical Home — to promote information exchange and clinical collaboration between health care entities across New Jersey. We rounded out the day with an extensive overview of MEDecision’s new Alineo and Nexalign solutions. I was very impressed by the active discussion among those in attendance that touched on a variety of related topics, not the least of which was the specific types of information exchange necessary to optimally engage health plans with patients and providers.
Overall a very productive day with no shortage of informative and enlightening presentations and subsequent discussions. Kudos to Dr. Andy Schuyler, our new CMO, for an outstanding job hosting the event. Yesterday was just the beginning, by the way. The 2008 MEDecision User Conference starts in full force today. Check back for an update.
There’s quite a buzz around MEDecision right now as we make final preparations for our annual CMO Forum and User Conference; two events we conduct during the first week in May each year.
By definition, the User Conference is a few days worth of interactive presentations, seminars and hands-on workshops that are designed to help our customers get the most out of our products and to learn about some of the innovations we always seem to have coming down the pike. But it’s a lot more than that too. It’s also a chance for folks to network with their peers from other organizations, to share ideas on improving care management for a few days and, in the evenings after the work is done, to just generally enjoy each other’s company.
In my opinion, the Forum and the User Conference are MEDecision’s most significant and important events. They’re an opportunity for us to have some quality face time with our customers and to get direct feedback from the people who use our solutions on a day-to-day basis. I think it’s important to provide a forum in which the people who actually use our products can tell us what they like about them and what they don’t. Over the years these exchanges have proven to be invaluable to us, and to our customers.
This year’s event – our 14th! – is poised to be the biggest and best ever, with a record number of people signed up to attend. We’re really excited by the attendance figures. Personally I think they’re a result of the momentum we’ve built so far this year with our new Alineo and Nexalign products. Couple that with the new organizational restructuring we’ve been doing lately, and these are very positive times for MEDecision. I think our guests will really notice the vibe when they join us next week. If history is any indication, it will surely be an informative, busy and fun couple of days. Check back here for updates.
Last week, MEDecision welcomed Dr. Andy Schuyler on board as chief medical officer. And we wasted no time in putting him to work! On Monday we promptly dispatched Andy to the 5th Annual World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C. where, along with Dr. Jim Barr, medical director of Partners in Care, a physician owned management company, he conducted the Market Insight Presentation “The Use of Patient Clinical Information to Affect Care.”
Attendance for the presentation was outstanding. The proverbial house was packed for Jim’s and Andy’s interactive and engaging session, which I found to be extremely encouraging. For all intents and purposes, what they discussed was the Patient-Centered Medical Home concept that I blogged about a few weeks ago (scroll down to have a look at it). More specifically, they outlined a Medical Home project that MEDecision, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Partners in Care are currently pursuing in New Jersey. Similar to my blog on the topic, Jim and Andy talked about the connectivity that is required between stakeholders in order for the Medical Home concept to work, and how it could change the face of health care going forward.
As I mentioned in the previous Medical Home blog, there was also a lot of interest in the topic at the Spring Blue Cross Blue Shield “Distinctively Blue” Conference in Denver a few weeks back. I think the Medical Home has a very real future and the potential to bring some positive change to the health care system. It’s great to see interest growing so much so soon. This is definitely one of the issues worth keeping an eye on going forward and I will certainly update you here on the progress we make in our efforts with our customers.
You may have heard something about there being a presidential primary today in Pennsylvania. It’s a shame the media hasn’t seen fit to give it much coverage.
Seriously, this being perhaps the biggest primary election Pennsylvania has seen, I couldn’t let the day go by without commenting on it in some way, shape or form. I’m going to resist the urge to use this as an opportunity for political pontification and stick to what I see as the implications of this election for the health information technology sector.
So far, I think all three candidates have recognized the importance of funding HIT in order to help bring real change to the American health care system. Clearly, this is a good thing. Just how much funding is allocated, where it goes and how it gets there are all dependent upon who wins the election in November. But the simple fact that Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama all maintain what seems like a legitimate interest in funding HIT certainly bodes well.
While whatever monies the federal government sees fit to contribute to the HIT effort are certainly welcome, I would argue that there is an issue at hand far more important than finances, and that is driving the use of clinical information at the point of care. In other words, throwing a pile of money at our industry and saying “create electronic medical records for everyone” may not necessarily be the best way to solve the health care problem. What’s more important is getting physicians and other health care entities to use the information that’s already available to them so they can experience its value. This will lead them down a path to an investment in an appropriate technology that best suits them. Ultimately, this will spawn the system-wide change we so eagerly seek.
I’ll be watching with great interest to see how things pan out in Pennsylvania today. And, undoubtedly, I’ll have some additional thought on the election and how it relates to HIT between now and November. And probably a bit after that too!
