Month: December 2015

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH

In this non-stop 24/7/365 tsunami of data overload, taking time to look back and see where we’ve been is often a rewarding if not grounding experience.

In June the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS) met in the awesome surroundings of Ojai, California to consider their agenda for the year.

AMDIS describes itself as:

..the premier professional organization for physicians interested in and responsible for healthcare information technology.

AMDIS Members are the thought leaders, decision makers and opinion influencers dedicated to advancing the field of Applied Medical Informatics and thereby improving the practice of medicine.

With our symposia, blogs, on-line forum, journal, presentations, sponsored and co-sponsored programs, and networking opportunities, AMDIS truly is the home for the “connected” CMIO.

[Editor’s Note: AMDIS 2016 information and registration page is here.]

Here is a list of and access to symposium presentations from the June gathering, while a twitter transcript of the meeting is available here.

Always ground zero for clinical informatics innovation, best practices and real world experience beyond vendor marketing hype, AMDIS sessions are rich and current. Here are the titles and presenting faculty at the event:

• MU Stage 3 and HIE – Eisenberg
• Literature Review – Banas and Galanter
• Tools of our Tool – Ober
• AMIA Update – Fridsma
• Effective Informaticist – Rose
• Deriving Value NLP – Gutteridge
• Deriving Value – Annual Wellness Visit – Babitch
• MU Stage 2 and 3 – Schreiber
• Deriving Value – ICU Delirium – Schneider
• HIMSS Going Beyond EMRAM – The Value Score – Wise
• Deriving Value – Sepsis – Downing
• Better, Smarter, Healthier – McCoy
• Deriving Value – Sepsis – Pante
• AMDIS Gartner Survey – Shaffer
• United Kingdom HIT – Gutteridge
• Klas Review – Tate
• MU3 Public Health Measures – Stutman
• The emerging role of the CHIO – Arlotto
• OpenNotes AMDIS presentations
• Deriving Value – Alerts – Heaton
• Geisinger inter-app-ability: Experience with SMART/FHIR – Erskine
• Deriving Value – EHR Optimization – Shrift

As we continue down the merry path of HealthIT or tech fueled if not enabled accountable care or better yet the holy grail of the triple aim, may we continue to be mindful of the limits of technology to make up for tired if not mis-aligned business models in healthcare delivery today.

Bridging the volume to value gap is a complex task. Enterprises and health systems navigating a mid-flight transformation need operate in a sea of conflicting incentives. As one of our colleagues John Mattison, MD opines on occasion: ‘we get what we incent’.

Today we have toes in the ‘risk water’ via a complex mix and range of government and privately fueled change initiatives mostly codified in drawers of healthcare contracts and/or service agreement ranging from bundled payments to global (PMPM) capitation.

While some health plans or their host integrated delivery systems (IDNs) have been in the value space for quite some time, most remain in a production oriented fee-for-service operating mindset and culture.

Yet as Don Berwick opined some time ago, we’re in an ‘all hands on deck, full court press’ to meet the challenges of the triple aim. Clearly absent the tech central spine enabling many to act as one, we can not get there. So, let’s get on with and get this done!