The eHealth Initiative’s (eHI) 2nd Annual National Forum on Data and Analytics in Healthcare featured an array of speakers and panel discussions that tackled the difficult subject of data and analytics in a two day forum on August 1-2.
Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, in one of his last addresses as the National Coordinator for HIT, presented his views and thoughts on how to approach caring for loved ones using the benefits of technology.
Mostashari talked about his Mom and her medical needs but also touched on what patients in general should expect from today’s healthcare system. The patient should expect their doctor to know their history and most importantly what happened at the previous visit. Knowing the patient’s history is vital not only for routine visits but essential when dealing with emergencies.
Doctors need to have the patient’s immediate medical history, allergies, medications, plus their patient’s expectations at their fingertips. Therefore, the first challenge is for all doctors to have accessibility to electronic records.
Today, this is being accomplished not only in doctor’s offices but in a high percentage of hospitals in this country and globally. The use of EHRs has doubled and tripled in all categories with 2013 being an impressive year.
Mostashari told the audience that his mom is diabetic and researchers have found that diabetic patients do well on statins. This means that doctors have to be aware of current up-to-date research information in order to do what is right for each patient’s care. This means that the doctor needs big data in order to have the right research data available at the right time.
It is also very important for providers to anticipate their patient’s medical needs. He pointed out that when users use Google, the search engine makes every effort to anticipate their search needs. Doctors should also be able to do searches that will provide data that can anticipate their patient’s medical needs.
In summing up, Mostashari said, “We must come up with solutions and products that providers need not only today but also tomorrow, provide the incentives to encourage the use of the right technology for the specific provider, provide privacy and security without taking short cuts, and have the right policies in place to respond effectively to issues and problems such as costs, quality measures, and productivity.
For more information, go to www.ehidc.org.