3 Health Technologies to Watch

Healthcare organizations have checked a lot of technologies off their to-do lists. According to the 2011 HealthLeaders Media Industry Survey of technology leaders, most have or are close to implementing wireless networks (95%), computerized physician order entry (91%), clinical data repositories of current data (88%), data mining of historic data (75%), and electronic health records (89%).

The 2012 industry survey is currently in the field and results will be published early next year. Will healthcare organizations finally catch up in adopting newer technologies?  Here's my analysis:

1. Telehealth is Up

In this year's survey, 30% of respondents said remote applications are at least three years out—and 13% said either that they're more than five years out, or that they won't pursue them at all. But over the past year, telemedicine has become more widespread for a few reasons. 

Chief among them: Advances in telehealth technology. In the past year, this has meant  faster and more reliable networks, wireless devices, high-definition digital images and video, and other functionalities.

And there's been movement on the legislative front, easing some of the concerns that have been holding telemedicine and remote health back. Earlier this year CMS implemented a new credentialing and privileging process for physicians who provide telemedicine services, for example.

Small and rural hospitals are increasingly driving the telehealth boom, banking on e-visits to improve access in areas with physician shortages, for example. In this year's community and rural healthcare leadership survey, 50% said a shortage of primary care physicians will have a negative or strongly negative impact on their organization; 51% said the same in regard to specialists. Some see telehealth as a solution.

Finally, there's a growing recognition that telehealth can aid in monitoring patients after discharge, potentially cutting down on ED visits and readmissions. That will be important as bundled payments move from theory to reality. In this year's CFO survey, finance leaders said bundled payments will have a negative impact on their organization (48%); another 7% said they'll have a strongly negative impact. 

"Prepare now to ensure a smooth transition—don't wait!" exclaims CMS's ICD-10 site. But in the 2011 survey it's clear that the healthcare industry, famous for its "I'll believe it when I see it" approach to preparing for pending regulations, is indeed waiting. In the 2011 survey, only 9% of IT leaders said their organizations are ready for ICD-10. Most (64%) said they'll be ready within one to two years. 

CMS's  timeline calls for internal ICD-10 testing in January. But the ICD-10 switch is currently set to flip October 1, 2013—a date that must seem very far off to those who are otherwise occupied with more pressing IT projects, such as becoming meaningful users of electronic health systems.

It's no wonder healthcare leaders are not excited to get started: Many healthcare leaders think they'll lose money on ICD-10. And they're unsure if they'll ever recoup the money they spend on implementation.

But there's danger in procrastinating when it comes to ICD-10—it has the potential to blow margins to smithereens if not completed on time.

The pace at which healthcare organizations have implemented interactive patient portals with advanced features such as appointment scheduling and lab test results has been slow. In this year's survey, only 13% reported having one. And although 48% said they plan to have one in one to two years, 39% said they won't have one for three to five years or more.  

Despite an industry-wide focus on patient-centered care, patient engagement, and patient experience—and a general consensus that technology can help providers better connect with patients, this is one area where healthcare is dragging its feet. What will change that? Patient demand and the need to stay competitive with organizations that have advanced portals.

In fact, organizations that have been slow to develop a portal considered advanced by today's standards could find themselves even further behind in 2012 and beyond if predictions about patient portals of the future—ones that integrate social media functions or offer access via mobile devices, for example—come to fruition.

This year's HealthLeaders Media Industry Survey is now live. It's open – but only until Friday – to leaders at hospitals, health systems, and physician practices, including CEOs and other senior administrators, technology, quality, finance, and physician leaders.