Population Health

Mercy Technology Services, the IT arm of the Catholic health system, is partnering with Tahoe Forest Health System to deploy an Epic electronic health record system at its locations in California and Nevada.

Her professorship will focus on population health and health equity, among other pressing issues.

The rollout expands on Epic's initial deployment at CVS MinuteClinics, and will enable better care coordination for rare and complex conditions.

The telemonitoring program of the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties and Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice are now connected with the state's HIE.

HIMSS17 has come and gone. Take our survey to separate the buzz from the real world work already underway at hospitals across the U.S.

Social media expert Melody Smith Jones explains what organizations need to do to benefit providers and convert unknown patients into new consumers of healthcare services.

Results of two polls published in the past week, from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Pew Research Center, demonstrate growing support for the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Future Directions for the ACA and Medicaid was published February 23, 2017. The margins in February 2017 were 48 percent favorable, 42 percent  unfavorable. While the majority of Republicans continue to be solidly against the ACA, a larger share of voters who identify as Independent have shifted to a favorable position on Obamacare. Furthermore, the KFF survey found that more than one-half of Americans overall say Medicaid is important for their families, with fewer Republicans saying so. Fifty-six  percent of Americans said they had some connection to Medicaid, either currently or in the past. The KFF survey was conducted February 13-19, 2017 by telephone among 1,160 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The Pew poll asked people if they approved or disapproved of the healthcare law passed by Barack Obama and Congress in 2010. The difference between pro- and con- in the Pew poll was wider than in the KFF survey, with 54 percent approving and 43 percent disapproving. Among people who disapprove of the law, more want to see Republican Congressional leaders modify the law versus repealing it, now with 44 percent of Republicans seeking repeal and 42 percent looking for a “repair.” There’s also a big difference in how younger Americans view the ACA compared with older people by a 2:1 ratio: 65 percent of younger adults approve of the law vs. 31 percent who disapprove. Support for Obamacare has also grown among Americans between 50 and 64 years of age. Note that the divergence in positive/negative responses in both polls reversed in 2017, lines crossing in the opposite directions as the 2017 new year set in with the eventual confirmation of Secretary Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and the reality of prospects for an ACA repeal. Finally, college graduates are more likely to support the Affordable Care Act than people with no college. The Pew poll was conducted among 1,503 U.S. adults the week before the KFF study, February 7-12, 2017. Health Populi’s Hot Points:  Media outlets repeated the Democratic Party leadership’s mantra that “Republicans could make America sick again.” The UK’s Financial Times reported that, “Trump warns party on speed of health reform as lawmakers push alternative visions.” The column pointed out: “The day after Republicans took a first step towards repealing the Obama reforms, the president and Mr. Pence separately met lawmakers who are pushing alternative visions for improving healthcare while trying to insulate themselves from future public ire.” The issue “spans household budgets, government spending and the profitability of the health industry,” the FT called out. Indeed: the U.S. healthcare economy is $1 in $5 of the national economy: As such, the healthcare economy is the national economy. At last week’s annual HIMSS conference, which attracted more than 40,000 healthcare information technology users and developers to Orlando, there was a growing number of vendors focused on patient payment systems – to deliver greater transparency, medical banking, and so-called “revenue cycle management.” Healthcare providers, hospitals and physicians alike, are confronted by patients who are now payers: paying first-dollar coverage out-of-pocket whether in high deductible health plans, working through health savings accounts, or paying @retail without insurance or under-insured. These patients are Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike, all seeing $1 in every $5 bill in their pocketbook going to healthcare costs. Over one-half of respondents to the February 2017 KFF poll reported some connection Medicaid: a fact that Congress, President Trump, and Secretary Price should note. I’ll put a real-life, fine point on this: I spent last Friday morning, February 24, with the Kansas Hospital Association brainstorming the growing role of patients as consumers in U.S. healthcare. Kansas Governor Brownback had not expanded Medicaid to-date, and neither had the State House been keen to do so. The night before my speech to the Association, the State House had voted in favor of expanding Medicaid. That issue will now be considered by the Kansas State Senate. This is a state that has been very conservative about Medicaid expansion. Now, in February 2017, we see a sign that state representatives seek a change. Kansas could be a bellwether. Watch this space: “ad astra per aspera” means, “through hardship to the stars.” There are few greater hardships than a very sick person facing a choice between paying for healthcare services and life-saving drugs, and paying for food, shelter, and heat in the winter.

There could be as many different wrap-ups on HIMSS17 as there were people there – over 42,000. No one sees the same vendor exhibits, hears the same presenters, or talks to the same people. There are conferences within conferences. So, here’s just one wrap-up – mine The first speaker I heard did a great job of scaring all the CIO’s. Kevin Mitnick, the world’s most famous hacker and security consultant, and author of several books including his most recent one, The Art of Invisibility, was the opening keynote at the CIO Forum on Sunday. His talk, “The Art of Deception: How Hackers and Con Artists Manipulate You and What You Can Do About It.” included real-time demonstrations. He drove home the point about how vulnerable we are as individuals and organizations.  I highly recommend checking out his website to learn more or get scared yourself. Dr. B.J. Miller was the final speaker at the CIO forum. His talk, “What Really Matters at the End of Life”, was a very sobering view of palliative and hospice care yet strangely inspiring at the same time. As he said, “spending time thinking about your time on the planet while you have time is important – don’t wait.” I highly recommend listening to his Ted Talk with this same title. I have been asked to serve on the CHIME Education Foundation Board again so Monday morning meant a board meeting. It’s gratifying to know that after serving as the initial chair of the foundation board 10 years ago, approximately $170,000 in scholarships is now being awarded annually. An important part of our collective commitment to developing the next generation of health IT leaders. Another part of that commitment is reflected in CHIME’s new initiative focused on women’s leadership development. At an early Monday morning breakfast meeting, current CHIME board chair, Liz Johnson, shared the results of the CHIME women’s survey and the women in attendance discussed leadership development opportunities for the coming year. The HIMSS conference opened Monday morning with a keynote from IBM CEO, Ginni Rometty. She challenged us all as she talked about IBM’s Watson, the new “moonshot” and her own personal journey as a technology leader. With an increased focus on women in technology and STEM, no question that she is an inspiring and strong role model for women. Views from the Top sessions on population health and connected health rounded out the first two days for me on the education front. On Tuesday night I was honored to be part of a panel on value based care and population health at a private IBM dinner hosted by IBM Watson Health General Manager, Deborah DiSanzo. It was great to hear what Joe Kimura, MD, chief medical officer from Atrius Health, and Joe Reilly, CIO from Central New York Care Collaborative, are doing in this space and share my perspective. With the help of social media I kept up on the hot topics – this year the AI sessions were overflowing and the tweets highlighting the blockchain forum on Wednesday gave me a good sense of its potential for healthcare. In just the first two days, there were 52,020 #HIMSS17 tweets. Check out the #HIMSS17 Influencers for the full conference here. There’s even a cool interactive visual map from MDigitalLife.com you can mouse over to see the interconnections between influencers here. With my newly launched health IT advisory firm, StarBridge Advisors, it was a different kind of HIMSS for me. We talked with potential clients and had several meetings with other firms who we may partner with on engagements. While I skipped the HIMSS awards gala, I was able to congratulate in person several of the award winners that I know well — Pam Arora (HIMSS/CHIME John E. Gall, Jr. CIO of the Year), Marion Ball (one of the Most Influential Women in Health IT Award recipients), and Dana Alexander (HIMSS-ANI Nursing Informatics Leadership Award). Kudos to these incredible women and all the 2017 award winners! While HIMSS is tiring and our feet ache at the end of each day, we all head home with renewed energy and passion for what we do – advancing healthcare and making a positive difference through technology! This post was first published on Sue Schade's Health IT Connect blog.

‘In our industry, you have to keep innovating,’ said Rometty about her experience at Big Blue for more than three decades.

The action continues on day two of HIMSS17 with a Women in Health IT Roundtable, Cybersecurity Command Center presentations, and more. Attendees share what they've learned from the hundreds of education sessions and why they return year after year.