5 replies »

  1. Matthew,
    Thank you for including Practice Fusion and me in your article. Following your write-up I had the opportunity to dive deeper into the issues that exist in a non-integrated model here. There was also a follow-up to my commentary here.

  2. William–as you know there are a host of reasons why docs dont use EMRs and money is only one. I just mean that in the big scheme of things the problem is that they’re not using EMRs rather than the data out there today is not instantly interoperable….

  3. By access to technology, are you speaking of the financial barriers? If so, I’d reiterate that the approach taken by Practice Fusion – and by my company, Calyx – is a great boon to practices on this score, as well. By bringing affordable, turnkey IT solutions to physician practices and working in conjunction with IPA/PHO to leverage their combined buying power when dealing with the EHR vendors, we believe we can make access to technology more affordable to every size practice.

  4. William. I think you may well be right, which is why I featured Practice Fusion as an example of a vendor doing exactly wht you’re talking about. My concenr is that the access to technology problem is greater than the interoperability problem.

  5. In Northeast Ohio, talk of creating a RHIO (cutely dubbed NEO RHIO) has been ongoing for more than two years. Talk has been the extent of it, however. While there may be functional RHIO elsewhere (I haven’t personally seen them but am perfectly willing to accept that there are) we haven’t seen them here – and aren’t likely to, according to most knowledgeable folks in the region.
    So more to the point, in my estimation, is something you briefly touch on in the article – IPA and PHO: larger aggregates of physicians coming together to leverage shared resources and enjoy the benefits of a large, interconnected network. By implementing a hosted EHR solution and – where possible – subsidizing it to the point of making it appealing to at least the majority of their members, these organizations can create de facto grassroots RHIO that bypass the politics of the “mostly. . . large organizations” you mention. IPA/PHO hosted EHR can deliver cost-effective solutions and ready data exchange at a level where it’s most desperately needed – primary care.
    So the real question is: Should IPA/PHO become RHIO through the implementation of ASP? Not quite as concise but a good question, nonetheless, I think.