Mobile, Analytics Lead Health IT TrendsMobile, Analytics Lead Health IT Trends

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Insurance companies and physicians face many challenges in 2011 as new models of care emerge, machine-to-machine transmission of health data increases, more business intelligence tools to analyze health data are used, and the adoption rates for mobile health devices grows.

Published last month, the IDC Health Insights report, "U.S. Connected Health IT 2011 Top 10 Predictions: The Evolving IT Landscape for Payers and Providers," identifies several major trends that will impact the payer and provider IT landscape this year. Among the trends noted in the report are the emergence of new care and reimbursement models and the expanded use of wireless networks to transmit health information from personal monitoring devices.

The report predicts a rise in the use of cloud computing solutions to manage health information, and said social networking sites will be utilized more frequently as customers search for health information and connect with others who face similar health challenges.

In addition to the challenges that will arise from the accelerated use of different types of technologies in healthcare, providers and payers will face transformative changes to care delivery and business models that respond to mandates under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, which accelerates the adoption of health IT, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010.

Under the PPACA, which encourages the use of connected health IT services and technologies to help patients manage their care, IDC said the PPACA will create new care delivery and reimbursement models, such as accountable care organizations (ACOs), that will be focused on reimbursing for care coordination and improvements to patient outcomes.

"In early 2011, providers and payers will focus on ACO planning, with execution beginning in late 2011 and 2012. Payers will invest first in clinical decision support and business intelligence tools to provide actionable information and alerts to clinicians and consumers. The next wave of care management IT investments will focus on connected healthcare (e.g., multiple channels and health information exchanges)," the report said. With regard to providers, however, the uncertainty surrounding the rules and requirements for ACOs will result in relationship building between providers and other stakeholders in 2011.

Part of that uncertainty stems from recent election results in which Republicans, who won a majority of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, campaigned on a platform to repeal the health reform law passed in March 2010.

"Change in partisan leadership in recent and upcoming election cycles, and legal challenges to reform legislation, creates additional uncertainty regarding health reform, inhibiting experimentation with new models and investment in the technology to support them. While it would be next to impossible to repeal PPACA in its entirety, opponents of health reform could attempt to defund certain programs," the document notes.

Still, as the drive to share health information among healthcare stakeholders continues, 2011 will see the bulk of IT investments in analytics tools, clinical decision support, and health information exchanges (HIEs) to aggregate, access, analyze, and ultimately exchange patient health information.

IDC predicts mobile devices and consumer connectivity technologies will create new security challenges for CIOs. Healthcare stakeholders will turn to cloud computing solutions to address concerns regarding scalability, availability, and security, the report said. Additionally in 2011, enterprise or private HIEs will continue to outpace their regional and statewide counterparts because enterprise HIEs have a more sustainable business model.

Analysts at IDC Health Insights are advising payers and providers to take several steps this year as they work through the IT challenges ahead. These include:

-- Lay the foundation for a solid information management platform that facilitates secure exchange of health information among care team members to improve collaboration and care coordination.

-- Invest in robust analytic tools, business intelligence, and clinical decision support to measure quality and outcomes, and facilitate point-of-care decisions made by clinicians and consumers. With the expected data explosion to come from machine-to-machine (M2M) data streams, these tools will become even more critical.

-- Deploy multichannel consumer engagement solutions to encourage consumers to play a more active role in managing their health. Examples include mobile health applications to reach the consumer on the go, and personal health monitoring devices to record key vital signs to measure fitness, manage chronic conditions, and provide real-time feedback and alerts.