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Using the Internet to Transform How Physicians and Managed Care Organizations
Work
by Mary Ellen Luff
The Managed Care Insider
A friend of mine was at a conference two years ago when the presenter began the
session declaring, "Healthcare is changing at lightning speed." Then he asked,
"Who are we kidding?"
No industry has been slower to change than healthcare. Physician offices
function essentially the same way they did 30 years ago, and nothing really
earth shattering has happened with health plans since the advent of Medicare.
For all the hype and promises of revolution, my friend was right. The industry
has seen a lot of activity, but no real meaningful change in years.
That was two years ago, an eternity in the technology industry.
Now the world has changed, according to Forrester Research, a Cambridge, MA.
Market research firm:
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52% of US households own computers
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72% of them have Internet access
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Before the development of e-business where corporate America was using the
Internet to transform business functions, re-defining who they were and what
they did
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Before everyone from physicians to consumers to congress promised to put managed
care organizations (MCOs) under the regulatory and legal knife if they didn't
change how they conducted business.
Additionally, in a study commissioned by Microsoft, it was discovered that:
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/research/computeruse.aspx
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85% of working-age adults with no difficulties/impairments use computers.
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80% of working-age adults with mild difficulties/impairments use computers.
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63% of working-age adults with severe difficulties/impairment use computers.
The U.S. is expecting and waiting for the healthcare industry to re-define
itself. And for an industry known for its slow embrace of new technology,
ironically, managed care has begun to turn its eye and its pocketbook to the
Internet as the vehicle to spur fundamental changes in the way providers and
insurers work with each other.
However, the crucial first steps to getting physicians on board lies not in the
technology, but in understanding their culture and processes, and creating
mutual value and benefit.
Recent Disasters and the Technological environment:
Imagine how much the world has changed since 1980.
From cell phones to wireless internet connections, to expanded bandwidth, and it
goes on and on and on. Think in terms of natural (and man made 9/11) disasters
over that same time and all of the costs to replace what was lost.
Unfortunately some of what was lost (Data and Information), aside from human
life, was never able to be replaced.
The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is the "Nation's Scorekeeper" in terms
of addressing severe weather events in their historical perspective. As part of
its responsibility of "monitoring and assessing the climate," NCDC tracks and
evaluates climate events in the U.S. and globally that have great economic and
societal impacts. NCDC is frequently called upon to provide summaries of global
and US temperature and precipitation trends, extremes, and comparisons in their
historical perspective.
The U.S. has sustained 62 weather-related disasters during the 1980-2004 periods
in which overall damages and costs reached or exceeded $1 billion at the time of
the event. Fifty-three of these disasters occurred since 1988 with total
unadjusted damages/costs exceeding $260 billion. Seven events occurred in 1998
alone--the most for any year in the summary period, though other years have
recorded higher damages.
In Summation:
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Increased rate of natural disasters (Hurricanes-Floods-Tornados)
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Ever increasing threat of man made disasters (terrorism)
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The aging of society
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Increased reliance on technology by society
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The Healthcare industries slow acceptance of technological advances
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The ramifications to business in light of catastrophic data loss
All of these factors point to the need for a product/service that has the
capability to:
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Securely transfer data accurately
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Aid in the Disaster recovery process
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Be easy for the novice user to access
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Provide complete 24/7/365 document access and availability
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Be designed to deal with and overcome any compatibility issues between users
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Offer automatic back up process
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Save data in its native format
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Offer permission based services
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Totally compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPPA
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Never require an upgrade
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Offer mirrored locations for the ultimate in security
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Offer a variety of data importation options
Simply-Scan speaks to and resolves these issues. It is not only the needed
solution for the times we live in, it's the solution to future issues
surrounding the devastation caused by catastrophic data loss.
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It is cost effective for the Business owner/Organization
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Safe, secure, and reliable
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Offers access to your critical data from anywhere
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Doesn't require investment in expensive hardware/upgrades
Most importantly, it's so simple, a child can do it! your Disaster Recovery
Plan.
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