eHealth - The CIO’s Role in Delivering New Models of Care The health care sector in the United States is going to change in the very near future. As
the aging population grows and cost of health care rises, the concept of Accountable Care
Organizations (ACOs) is emerging. The goal of an ACO is to encourage hospitals and
physicians to, “integrate care,” such that the financial risks and rewards of potential
savings are shared. This integration is accomplished by having both parties be collectively responsible for creating and implementing solutions to improve the quality of
health care. To bring this concept closer to reality, the US House bill calls for a three-tofive
year Medicare pilot project to see if ACOs can lower costs and improve care. The
current health care IT landscape has limited EMR/EHR penetration, as well as health
information exchange, and is inefficient to address demands of emerging health care
delivery and business models. The IT world has an opportunity to revolutionize the
healthcare industry. Panelists: |