Position Paper

Recommendations for ARRA HITECH and Defining “Meaningful Use” for Hospitals

Our proposal centers on delivering results, or outcomes, directly to those whom ARRA HITECH is intended to serve: the patient-taxpayers of the United States. We believe that if we all focus on the outcome of any clinical episode, the record of that encounter, we will best serve the interests of the patient-taxpayers, and bring about the desired improvements in healthcare quality and cost-effectiveness envisioned in HITECH.

Introduction

Picis, as a leading US healthcare information technology provider, has focused its efforts for the past 12 years entirely on the high-acuity areas of hospitals: the emergency department (ED), the operating room (OR) and the intensive care unit (ICU). These areas typically consume as much as 60% of hospital resources, and can drive as much as 70% of revenues for a US hospital. On the “flip side”, this means that payers, including the government, should be vitally interested in these and other specialty areas of the hospital (cardiology, oncology, OB/GYN, etc.) as we consider the definition of “meaningful use” under ARRA HITECH.

The purpose of this paper is to convey this perspective to interested parties who are authoring regulations, and who will then be charged with implementing and overseeing HITECH. We believe that there are clear ways to ensure the greatest effectiveness of this investment. However, we also fear that unless a very clear end-state and progressive goals are put in place, along with certain checks and balances to safeguard against ineffective use of the funds, that the program will not lead to the true transformation of our healthcare system that is so badly needed.

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