It s Healcare IT Week: What s in Store for the future of Heal Information Technology? by Nancy Twombly

With Healthcare IT Week featuring the world of healthcare information technology on a national stage, it is interesting to see what's trending and new. But in this era of ever-evolving regulations and continual technology innovation, there are a few constants. Despite your PACS or your patient population or even your politics for that matter you can't escape from these uber trends that have significant impact on costs and care delivery:

Data, Data, everywhere. While Big Data is part of the national vocabulary, More Data is also a truism. We're past the tipping point on EHR adoption, and generating more and more patient information. While imaging technology is driving a substantial amount of the data growth, there are new data types on the horizon that will be orders of magnitude larger. Genomics, Digital Pathology, and Proteomics will keep the data coming - and continue to present storage management challenges.

Data on-demand. With the shift to Accountable Care, providers need to truly understand and manage their patient population. But with that requirement comes the responsibility to track and manage vast amounts of data. And keeping track of all the data - with its associated backup, archival, and access needs - is no small task.

The Big Squeeze. Data keeps growing, yet the costs to manage that data keep increasing. And with declining reimbursements and decreasing margins, providers are feeling the big squeeze - with no end to this trend in sight. Innovative healthcare organizations are considering new strategies - like the cloud to keep their storage costs better aligned with their business needs. A cloud-based strategy also enables providers to get a view of their true costs so they can chargeback the appropriate departments - enabling improved cost allocations and budgeting.

Keeping your Eye on the Prize. With all these trends impacting the ability to focus on care delivery, it is important to keep an eye on the big prize. And today, that means focusing on the things that are most important: delivering superior care. Providers shouldn't have to expend their limited capital on storage management - versus treating their patients or driving revenue. Outsourcing these tasks can act as a change agent for process improvements.

Pragmatic healthcare organizations are developing plans to get ahead of these trends - but they don't need to go it alone. By partnering with organizations that understand and deliver solutions that solve for these challenges, providers can focus their limited IT resources on their key strategic initiatives.

Be sure to check out this brief video segment by Shahid Shah, the Healthcare IT Guy, to get an expert's perspective on these trends, and the exciting future of Health Information Technology.

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2013/industry/healthcare-information-man...
	See more stories from ironmountain

Most recent headlines