This university could be at the forefront of a coming boom in health information technology, according to faculty members.
A plan released Friday by administrators from the public health school and the business school would bring together a diverse array of researchers who are already independently working to take health care digital.
Switching from paper to electronic medical records would allow medical professionals to have quick and global access to a patient’s stored information, reduce paperwork and generally increase efficiency within all components of the health care field, presenters said at Friday’s forum discussing the plan.
The forum, attended by about 40 faculty members and industry leaders, comes on the heels of the national health care reform bill that was signed into law last month. Presenters called on university departments from engineering to sociology to meet the new legislation’s requirements for improved record-keeping technology.
“I see [the university] having a wonderful opportunity to take a lead on this, as we have a unique perspective,” public health school Dean Robert Gold said at the forum. “We are not just a tech school or just a liberal arts school, and addressing these issues will require more than that.”
The university’s research under the new plan would include studies about incorporating mobile devices into health care data collection, electronic prescription ordering and the creation of personalized medication.
This university is in a prime position to become a leader in this field both because of its proximity to the federal Health and Human Services Department and the National Institutes of Health and because it has already been researching medical information technology for years — before the issue became “trendy,” according to Ritu Agarwal, the business school’s dean’s information systems chairwoman, who helped develop the plan.
“We have incredible resources here, but these resources are kind of scattered around the campus,” Agarwal said. “What we want to do is bring them together.”
The poor coordination among different health organizations during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the loss of health documents after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina and the estimated 44,000 to 98,000 Americans who die each year due to preventable medical errors were all cited as examples of the need for a better health care infrastructure.
“Right now, public health infrastructure is weakened because there is no sound, secure electronic infrastructure,” Gold said. “I believe that when 9/11 happened, the 35 different departments and organizations that addressed health as the first responders were not able to communicate information with each other.”
The main focus of Friday’s forum was to interest faculty and health care professionals in joining the new program’s advisory board and to help establish the program’s direction, Agarwal said. There were constant breaks in between presentations where the audience had time to respond and give feedback.
Some attendees raised concerns that corporations would be unwilling to share information technology, doctors might lose income by streamlining their operations and there might be too much focus on cutting costs rather than increasing the quality of care.
However, the overall tone of comments at the forum was overwhelmingly positive, and attendees said they were curious about the new plan’s implications.
“I wanted to hear what the campus has planned,” said Mary Kivlighan, assistant public health school dean. “I’m also interested in IT’s use in helping people manage their own health and in helping facilitate health promotions.”
For students, some of these discussions have already become reality, according to Kenyon Crowley, who directs the business school’s medical information technology program.
The University Health Center already possesses every student’s health records in its electronic database, he said.
desmarattes@umdbk.com
