If you get bored of walking the aisles of HIMSS and can’t bear to hear another vendor pitch, well you could always wander over to a session where people will gather to discuss and reach consensus on what are arguably the 5 most used acronyms in the industry. You can contribute to the discussion as part of your civic duty as there are some in the federal government that believe lack of clarity on these terms is holding back the adoption of healthcare IT (HIT).
But really, does anyone in the right mind truly believe this is the problem with HIT adoption? There are a myriad of issues that are stunting the adoption of HIT that range from poor software to poor implementation of good software, to lack of training and the list goes on and on. Consensus on the definitions of five acronyms (EHR, EMR, HIE, PHR, RHIO) will solve NOTHING as it pertains to actual adoption of IT in the healthcare sector!
Maybe its just sour grapes on my part for I did not win the contract. One of the Beltway Bandits did and for a princely sum of $500,000. Hey HHS, I would have done it for you for a tenth of that amount and you would have the report by now. Better yet, maybe HHS can get its money back and instead go out and buy a box-car load of “Diffusion of Innovations“ by Everett Rogers, the undisputed Bible of how technology is adopted and diffused. Distribute the book to all HHS employees involve in HIT promotion efforts, study it closely and apply the concepts. Guarantee the results will be more productive than this definition effort which you are currently funding. (Note: Moore basically plagiarized Rogers’ work for his own Crossing the Chasm. Diffusion of Innovations is more academic and far more thorough than Chasing the Chasm).
But I digress.
This is one glaring example and quite possibly the most egregious of what is wrong with government efforts to date to drive adoption of HIT (actually gave it a “Golden Fleece Award” when I first heard about it). I have nothing against the many dedicated federal employees that are really trying to do the right thing, in fact, I have enormous respect for them for they really are taking on a herculean task. I just wish some of them would think more and do less.
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