The Future of Healthcare in America

According to the Institutes of Medicine, "bringing state-of-the-art care to all Americans in every community will require a fundamental, sweeping redesign of the entire health system... merely making incremental improvements in current systems of care will not suffice."

In a recent speech[8], the United States Surgeon General praised the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) “Healthy People 2010[17]” for its "roadmap" for the future of healthcare in America. Healthy People 2010 seeks to increase life expectancy and quality of life by helping individuals gain the knowledge, motivation, and opportunities they need to make informed decisions about their health. It also defines the national health objectives that identify the most significant preventable threats to health, and establishes national goals to control and reduce these threats.

The Surgeon General articulated a vision of the future (2010) in which:

A robust health information system provides equitable access for everyone; especially those in underserved communities;
Information and support services are tailored for the specific health problems and educational needs of all segments of the population; and
Health professionals are trained in the science of communication, and supporting tools and technologies are readily available.

"The challenges of applying information technology should not be under-estimated", writes Institute of Medicine in their much sited report[19] titled “Crossing the Quality Chasm: A new health system for the 21st Century”. They continue:

"Sizable capital investments and multiyear commitments to building systems will be needed. Widespread adoption of many information technology applications also will require behavioral adaptations on the part of large numbers of clinicians, organizations and patients. Thus, the committee calls for a nationwide commitment by all stakeholders to building an information infrastructure that supports health care delivery, consumer health, public accountability, and so on...”

BESolutions appreciates and understands the challenges that lay ahead, but also believes that this vision can be achieved long before 2010 with PHIERS!

PHIERS is a cost-effective, scalable and user-friendly "solution" that augments existing health literacy initiatives by improving the quality of patient-provider interactions and helping patients play a more active role in improving their health, while simultaneously reducing operating costs and improving patient satisfaction and medical outcomes.

Expert Opinion