At the Becker's Hospital Review Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 11, Chris Davis, vice president of enterprise solutions at athenahealth, discussed cloud-based services and how using them could help organizations achieve clinical integration.
According to Mr. Davis, changes that are occurring in the healthcare industry are not going to slow down. The industry needs a nimble away to deal with these, and software is not the answer. Cloud-based services are unique in offering the visibility and control that is required to achieve clinical integration, which is key for a high-performing medical network.
One way in which healthcare organizations have tried to achieve clinical integration is using a common electronic health record system across the organization. However, the "one-size-fits-all" program that they use isn't a fit for everyone, and so, this method isn't really working, said Mr. Davis.
Clinical integration requires three components:
1. A sustainable economic model that motivates all stakeholders to participate.
2. Processes that result in actionable insight, such as data that translates to action and care that patients need.
3. Technology that allows for open exchange of data and performance visibility.
Cloud-based services can help develop and sustain all three components. They also have low upfront costs and are already creating return on investment in healthcare.
"Clinical data exchange is here to stay, and why should everyone build their own application when we can all share one?" said Mr. Davis.
According to Mr. Davis, changes that are occurring in the healthcare industry are not going to slow down. The industry needs a nimble away to deal with these, and software is not the answer. Cloud-based services are unique in offering the visibility and control that is required to achieve clinical integration, which is key for a high-performing medical network.
One way in which healthcare organizations have tried to achieve clinical integration is using a common electronic health record system across the organization. However, the "one-size-fits-all" program that they use isn't a fit for everyone, and so, this method isn't really working, said Mr. Davis.
Clinical integration requires three components:
1. A sustainable economic model that motivates all stakeholders to participate.
2. Processes that result in actionable insight, such as data that translates to action and care that patients need.
3. Technology that allows for open exchange of data and performance visibility.
Cloud-based services can help develop and sustain all three components. They also have low upfront costs and are already creating return on investment in healthcare.
"Clinical data exchange is here to stay, and why should everyone build their own application when we can all share one?" said Mr. Davis.