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Someone Tell Mickey

June 24, 2011

We are well past the days where HIT doesn't get attention outside of the data center. These days, HIT gets lots of attention outside the walls of

We are well past the days where HIT doesn't get attention outside of the data center. These days, HIT gets lots of attention outside the walls of our Hospitals and Physician’s offices. In the past few years we’ve even gotten focus and budget dollars from the Department of the Health and Human Services a mention in several State of the Union addresses.While the topic of HIT has made a long journey from the data center in the hospital basement to the Halls of the US Congress, it is clear to me, as of this week, the topic of HIT is not on the minds of the consumer. Do you know how I know? Disney is building a new “House of the Future” that doesn’t appear to address telemedicine. This is a house where the refrigerator that can tell you what items you need for a recipe and where every surface is a Microsoft Surface, yet… no mention of remote care. The house of the future will surely have some connection to the healthcare provider, someone tell Mickey.While Mickey might be an odd barometer of consumer expectations, consumers undeniably have low expectations for things like better control of their personal health information, the ability to shop around, self-service convenience, and other benefits information technology can make reality. Consumers can drive change in healthcare. As IT Leaders, maybe it’s important to make sure our neighbors know what HIT can do for them, and not just our Executives, Clinicians, and Legislators.