K.C. Bolton:
Psychic-Hotline Predictions
I like to read technology predictions at the end of a calendar year. They are revealing. Every trade magazine, it seems, dedicates some of their end of year efforts to trying to nail down the 'next best thing' for their industry. Interestingly, IT and healthcare (HC) have one in common that still eludes the pundits: the paperless office. Right now there are focus groups working in both industries to lick this problem.
I know of nobody in my industry that doesn't believe that a standardize electronic medical record is necessary. Improved patient safety, efficiency in work, and better HIPAA compliance are just a few of the benefits from a EMR. But (here it comes...) my prediction is that we are still at least 3-5 years from a true standard. I am not disparaging the work by the HL7 (www.hl7.org) group to establish XML as the new standard. But it will take quite a few 'bleeding edge' organizations to take that leap of faith. And it will also take mandates from the federal government with some penalties for non-compliance.
Right now there is a sea of clinical information systems out there, many claiming to have the right computerized patient record. In the federal sector I can count at least three major 'CPRs'. Who wants to give up what is comfortable, or what has had a tremendous amount of development time poured into it? But...the best horse in the race for a standard electronic patient record is what HL7 is doing. Keep an eye on them.
7:00:01 PM 
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