Steve Case: Long I.T. Journey Ahead

HDM Breaking News, June 24, 2008

Shifting health care to a consumer-centric model by making greater use of information technology could be a 10- to 20-year journey, said Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution Health Group, Washington. Case was the June 24 keynoter at the Healthcare Financial Management Association's Annual National Institute in Las Vegas.

Case, co-founder of AOL, noted it took well over a decade to overcome consumers' resistance to credit card use for electronic commerce on the Internet. Similarly, it will take time for health care to adopt online communities and other new technology-fueled approaches, such as those offered by Revolution Health, he said.

"We believe personal health records will be commonplace in the not too distant future," said Case, whose company offers PHRs. It will take much longer, however, to link PHRs to providers' electronic health records systems, he said.

Health care "must go beyond creating digital filing cabinets" for patient records, he said, to making the information in electronic records "actionable" so it supports clinicians' decisions.

The impact of information technology, including the Internet, on consumers' health care experiences could eventually be more profound that the effect the Internet had on retailing, banking and other sectors, Case argued. "But ultimately, the consumer must control their medical information," he added.

For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:

• Consumer Health
• Electronic Health Records
• Health Information Exchange
• Web Technology
• Hospitals
• Group Practices
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