A few weeks ago I previewed the American Telemedicine Association annual meeting in Baltimore by noting that larger health systems are now taking telehealth initiatives more seriously, making the conference much more relevant to our readership.
As I head off to the fifth annual Health Datapalooza in Washington, D.C., next week, I believe the same thing is happening with the “data liberation” movement. Some people may not see the relevance of the “quantified self” movement to their day to day jobs in a healthcare setting. But one of the benefits of the meaningful use program is that lots of different types of data are now flowing between organizations and to public health groups. That can be the starting point for lots of innovation, and the Health Datapalooza brings the innovators together in one spot. (In fact, the attendance has grown to more than 2,000 people.)
As Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of sponsoring organization Health Data Consortium, put it: ““We know that unlocking health data is vital to improving health, health care, affordability and accessibility. We are at the beginning of a renaissance in health care which will be data-driven, evidence-based, and vastly more productive. We will improve care and research. We will empower patients to make better decisions.”
Of course it will be interesting to hear keynote addresses from thought leaders such as Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Minister Jeremy Hunt from the UK, Francis Collins, Atul Gawande, Steven Brill, Adriana Lukas, Jonathan Bush, Vinod Khosla, Karen Ignagni, Elliot Fisher, and of course Todd Park.
But I am particularly interested in hearing about how new data flows are impacting clinical outcomes and public health efforts.
Here are a few sessions I am eager to attend:
• Integration of Patient Generated Data into Clinical Workflow to Achieve Improved Outcomes
This session will demonstrate how incorporating patient-generated data into the workflow at the point of care allows for a collaborative approach to patient care.
• Clinician- Data Infrastructure in Clinical Settings
This session will include Paul Harris, PhD, Director, Office of Research Informatics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and John Mattison, MD, CMIO, Kaiser. “So you can capture a plethora of patient data, now what?” This session will discuss and explore how clinical workflows can handle the reams of patient data streams (e.g., self-monitoring) that are possible.
• Using Data to Foster Community Engagement for Health Improvement
This session will focus on how to use data to spark local health improvement efforts. It will cover what we’ve learned about using data and the “so what” question, that is, how has data and data sharing translated to action and observed changes?
• Emerging Delivery System Models and the Role of Data — Accountable Care Organizations and Beyond!
This session will include Rishi Sikka, MD, SVP, Clinical Transformation, Advocate Health Care; Basit Chaudhry, MD, CEO & Founder, Tuple Health; and Richard Davis, PhD, Vice President for Innovation & Patient Safety, Johns Hopkins Medicine. The panel serves as a culmination of how the best of clinical delivery improvement can be a great opportunity for setting data free and allowing for the triple aim to be a reality.
In addition, there will be an “Apps Demo,” in which the five organizations below will showcase their apps on the main stage.
• ActualMeds Corp: ActualMeds provides “medication reconciliation on demand” at point of care. Seamlessly combining medication data from the EHR or HIE, Rx claim/fills, and a patient structured interview into actionable information. ActualMeds produces the most accurate and current medication history. For payers and providers with high-risk patients, operating efficiencies, quality metrics and outcomes are improved.
• Social Health Insights: The State of Indiana wanted to show the excellent and ongoing progress Indiana has made in the adoption of EHRs and the economic impact it has had on the state. By visualizing the data, we let everyone take a look at how the state is doing.
• Maxwell Health: At Maxwell Health, our mission is to transform health care in America. To do that, we’ve built an operating system for employee benefits. Maxwell’s mobile experience includes a time- and money-saving health care concierge, a turnkey wellness program that connects with best-in-class health products, and access to all benefits information.
• Purple Binder: Purple Binder makes it easy to match people with services that keep them healthy in their community, extending care beyond the clinic. Get actionable data on services ranging from food pantries to low-cost preschools, from homeless shelters to park district programs.
• CareSync: CareSync gives people access to meaningful, useful, and simply shareable medical info. Med reminders, daily dashboards, Care Manager, and the Health Timeline™ give users the power to effectively communicate with family, caregivers and providers. Convenient services, including records retrieval & transcription, booking appointments and more put the power of health data into the hands of the patient.
If you can't make it to D.C. June 1-3, watch this space. I'll be reporting from the conference!
