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Back To the Future In Health Care

From MedCity News, Dr. John D. Halamka, chief information officer and dean for technology at Harvard Medical School, writes the story of health care in 2015, when Stage III of meaningful use is fully implemented. Among his forecasts:
"Hospitals will compete based on the results they achieve rather than the grandeur of their buildings. Transparency in the reporting of quality and outcomes will transform the health care marketplace. Patients will have a much better understanding of quality, cost, and outcomes."
And this...
"Patients will have much more choice as consumers. Access to the electronic records including their genomes will enable personalized medicine – selecting the treatments that best align with their care preferences, risk-taking thresholds, and physiology."
Good stuff, and high time for providers to move beyond the 'do we/don't we/how can we?' questions and consider the revolutionary aspects of an EMR-enabled industry.


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