Booz Allen Releases White Paper on "Health Information Liquidity"
Examining ways health information and communications technology can accelerate progress towards improved patient outcomes and a genuinely patient-centered health care system.
Washington, DC, January 12, 2009—Booz Allen Hamilton released today “Toward Health Information Liquidity: Realization of Better, More Efficient Care From the Free Flow of Information,” a study that examined ways health information and communications technology (health IT) can accelerate progress towards improved patient outcomes and a genuinely patient-centered health care system.
However, the study and its authors caution that while “EHRs and e-prescribing are necessary starters to wire the health care system, they are not sufficient to achieve full interoperability,” which the report defines as the exchange of critical patient information within and across organizational boundaries. Report authors say that even when information is electronic, it is not automatically shared across network or other boundaries, and there is no guarantee that the information will be used when care decisions are made.
“We’ll need other technologies and tools,” said Susan Penfield, a Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton. “But we will also need fundamental changes in the way health care is delivered and financed.”
Kristine Martin Anderson, a Principal at Booz Allen, emphasized the need to focus on a few areas to ensure that the nation sees progress toward better, more efficient care in the next 5 years. The report suggested that focusing on creating a national capability to ensure that pharmacy, laboratory and radiology history is available and is referenced at the point of care. “Achieving success in these three areas will dramatically improve quality and efficiency”, said Ms. Martin Anderson.
The result of a six-month effort that was guided by an esteemed expert panel, Toward Health Information Liquidity emphasizes that patients and all other stakeholders in the health care system can derive greater benefits when the information flows more freely, and the right information gets to the right people at the right time.
Booz Allen conducted the study by interviewing thought leaders across different sectors of the healthcare industry, including stakeholders from academia, the technology industry, government, consumers, clinicians, and providers. To supplement the interviews, an extensive review of published reports, white papers, websites, blogs, industry newsletters and extensive source materials were also reviewed and analyzed.
The study highlights 10 “Accelerators” that would make small but largely significant steps towards health information liquidity. A few examples are:
- Get out of paper. Continue to adopt electronic health information to increase electronic data exchange but focus additional energy to eliminate use of paper-based medical practice in critical areas such as prescriptions, lab results, and medial imaging.
- Fast-track implementation of a nationwide e-prescribing network with decision support at the time and place of care.
- Grant patients consistent, secure, and timely access to their personal health information and the ability to communicate securely with clinicians about it.
Authors of the report stress that a lot of small things can be done that will produce big benefits for the health care system. “Small technological steps can create big changes—for the better, but the efforts need to be focused and tied directly to the desired outcomes” said Penfield.
Additional Information
- "EHRs Not Sufficient for Data Liquidity" — This article by Booz Allen's Kristine Martin Anderson, Margo Edmunds, Mark Belanger, and Susan Penfield was published in the September 1, 2009 issue of Managed Healthcare Executive.
