Executive Memorandum
Top Ten Tech Trends
To: Professor Stephen T. Parente, Ph.D.
From: Jason Reeves, IHI Student
Introduction
While researching the Top Ten Tech Trends in 2016 the following trends stood out personally. All the top trends in that will be discussed have particular interest to me as a Service Member. The healthcare systems for the military and the VA will soon go through a massive overhaul in the next 5-10 years, and beyond. Cyber Defense, Connected Health, and a National Patient ID, system will be just a few of the top trends that the DoD will be concentrating on in the future.
Cyber Defense
Cybersecurity is something that hits very close to home for me as a service member that has first-hand experience with a security breach against service members, retirees, and their beneficiaries. Darren Lacey, CISO at Johns Hopkins University/Johns Hopkins Medicine states that a multi-factor authentication has been used for more than five years at Johns Hopkins. Lacey explained, “A multi-factor authentication requires all users to enter at least one additional form of identification beyond user name and password to gain electronic access to protected health information (PHI).” Had this security measure been utilized by my hospital, dozens of Soldiers and their families may not have had their identities stolen by my employee and lost millions of dollars. With greater cybersecurity processes in place it will gain the patient’s confidence in your organization. Additionally, my organization lost dozens of patients to the civilian sector resulting in significant losses in revenue. The key to a successful Cybersecurity is proactivity. Sadly, we concentrate so heavily on the outside threat, we forget that our greatest threats could very well be working right next to us.
Connected Health
The use of smart phones and apps, sensors, wearable devices, and remote patient monitoring could possibly transform healthcare positively in the future, if available to patients. The military health systems have not been willing to use these resources as liberally as the civilian healthcare systems. According to Ed McCallister, The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has implemented a remote patient monitoring program for congestive heart failure patients. This specific program has reduced the 30-day readmission rates to 12% compared to the national average of 25%. Additionally, fitness apps have been more prevalently used to assist providers improve chronic conditions, such as diabetes. These apps are currently under review by the military as security risks around the world. In fact, deployed service members will no longer be allowed to use fitness tracking apps or GPS’s. The data that is collected in the civilian healthcare systems are far more advanced than those in the military healthcare systems.
National Patient ID
A national patient ID has been in debate for several years, dating back to the 1990s, without resolution. According to the article the typical error rate is around 10-20 percent, which can be catastrophic. When facilities exchange patient information the error rate can be as high as 60 percent. In 2016, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) launched the National Patient ID (NPID) Challenge. This challenge would give $1 million to the winner; however, after almost two years, CHIME dropped National Patient ID Challenge without a winner. This struggle is highlighted in the military medical system as well. The multibillion-dollar military-VA new DoD EHR implementation has had “highly damaging issues with that rollout”. A major concern, even after complete implementation, is will the DoD system translate to a civilian hospital for those service members that will transition to it? Completing a DoD patient medical record across all military healthcare systems around the world has proven to be costly and challenging, to say the least. It appears that a National Patient ID is still years away.
Conclusion
The intertwined trends Cyber Defense, Connected Health, and a National Patient ID are all trends that have a direct impact on the military healthcare systems and civilian sector hospitals. The challenges in keeping patient’s PHI safe across all sectors in today’s technologically advanced markets is at the forefront of every executive’s mind. The more confidence patients have in their healthcare facility, it will translate into gained revenue and reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance companies. Should a patient’s confidence waver, it could lead to financial struggles for those healthcare facilities that don’t take things seriously.