Health Technology Forum Kicks Off In The Nation’s Capital
On September 19, 2013, Health Technology Forum’s newest chapter kicked off in the nation’s capital. Our host was Troutman Sanders, LP, a law firm with a leading health-care practice. They generously offered their office space in Washington, DC for the event. Also attending were Pronoy Saha, Founder of the Health Technology Forum, and Dr. Gerasimos Petratos, Co-Organizer of the New York City branch of HTF. They both shared their tips for how to grow an effective branch.
We had over thirty participants who heard from three speakers:
• Damon Davis is Director of the Health Data Initiative at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Chief Technology Officer. Previously, he was in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. Mr. Davis walked us through the treasure trove of data resources available through HealthData.gov. This was just one example of how the Obama Administration is passionate about liberating health-care data.
• Nancy Hall is Chief Information Officer of MedAmerica, headquartered in Emeryville, CA. Her business focuses on practice-management solutions for emergency-room doctors. Ms. Hall discussed how the current generation of EHRs are not satisfying the needs of ER doctors. Data is being captured by the hospitals, but the hospitals are unwilling to share the relevant data with ER docs. Furthermore, Ms. Hall said that the EHRs currently being installed to meet the meaningful-use requirements of the HITECH Act are unlikely withstand the test of time. She believes that this is likely to lead to a new round of “ripping and replacing” in about five years.
• Steven D. Gravely is a Partner and Health Care Practice Leader at Troutman Sanders LLP, where he advises on mergers & acquisitions, compliance, and other issues in health law. Mr. Gravely has also been an emergency-medicine technician and hospital administrator. He shared his experience about the evolving nature of contract negotiations in health IT and the challenges facing vendors and customers.
After the presentations, the three speakers participated in a spirited panel that fielded questions from the diverse participants.
HTF DC is excited to join the growing HTF movement. We anticipate having a comparative advantage in accessing professionals who can discuss legislation, regulation, and public policy issues.
We look forward to contributing to the movement!
Written by John R. Graham
John R. Graham is the Co-Organizer of HTF: DC. A financial, economic, and policy analyst of the health sector, his articles are curated at http://jrghealthsectoranalysis.blogspot.com/.
