(SPONSORED) Mark Blatt, MD, MBA, Worldwide Medical Director, Sales and Marketing Group, Intel Corporation, discusses how existing and innovative mobile technologies will drive the transformation of the healthcare delivery system. From collaboration and collaborative workflows to real-time video sign-outs and video chats, mobile solutions are all about applying LEAN principles to a patient-focused healthcare ecosystem. In his current role, Dr. Blatt concentrates on how health information technology (HIT) infrastructure can enable providers to deliver cost-effective, quality care to all citizens. He has a particular interest in integrated care delivery, mobile point of care, secure computing and the emergence of cloud-computing services.

As a Worldwide spokesperson for Intel, over the last two years, he has spoken at more than 50 events on these topics, including HIMSS events, Med-e-Tel in Luxemburg, AAFP annual conference, Partners Connected Care, ATA, NHS ConFed in the UK and Panasonic Mobile summit. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Clinical Groupware Collaborative, Bryan University and the Board of Advisors for Live Process. He is also a member of the IEEE Medical Technology Policy Committee, the American Telemedicine Association, HIMSS, a Life-time member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice (1982-2010).

Q: How can we deliver the most value and the highest quality of care, accessible to the most people? Will mobile technology help us find the answer?

A: Mobility is no longer a nice to have in healthcare; it’s an expectation. And what’s exciting is seeing how innovations in mobile health at a horizontal level can transform care delivery. Take two recent technologies that have fundamentally changed communication and collaboration – ad-hoc video conferencing and streaming technology.

Healthcare professionals have been using mobile tools to look up data. They get more accurate information. They make better decisions. That’s great, but it’s just a start. Today, we can form ad-hoc teams and collaborate in cyberspace. Instead of one person going to six departments or six people meeting in one place, the departments come together and no one needs to go anywhere.

We are learning that to most effectively treat diabetes, a stroke or a heart attack, it takes a village. Now we can assemble the village ad hoc in cyberspace in ninety seconds and work in ways we couldn’t before. We call these collaborative workflows. They represent a fundamental change for the better. Now we no longer have a series of individuals doing isolated tasks, with the burden on the patient to communicate among them. The team can collaborate in real time or asynchronously. And we can go a step further by involving family and caregivers.

Here’s a practical benefit of this scenario. We’ve learned that improved communications at time of discharge, especially to follow-on physicians, is one of the best ways to avoid readmission. So we have continuity of care documents (CCDs). But it turns out the most needed information isn’t in those documents. Physicians want the raw data. So what if, at the time of discharge, the floor nurse did a real-time video sign-out call communicating the CCD, the discharge summary, plus the telemetry. Now, if patients have a problem post-discharge, their primary care doctor has the data to help and not send them back to the hospital.

Another benefit is streamlining the consult process. A quick video chat can get the care team communicating and making a decision within minutes rather than keeping the patient waiting for hours. They can use solutions like Lync to make direct, secure, HIPAA-compliant fi le transfers. They reduce hand‑off time and reduce cycle time. It’s applying LEAN principles to healthcare, while being more patient-focused.

Integrated organizations are taking advantage of ICT collaboration to extend the EMR’s benefits – to reach patients wherever/whenever they need treatment, with virtual care delivery. At a fraction of the cost. It’s a triple LEAN: improve quality, reduce cost and improve health. And by sharing information with patients and families, we can improve outcomes further. For example, sending lab data directly to patients is not only more efficient, it’s empowering. One study found that access to doctors’ notes in their EMRs resulted in 80 percent of patients feeling empowered and 70 percent improvement in medication compliance. [Delbanco, Tom MD, Inviting Patients to Read Their Doctors’ Notes: A Quasi-experimental Study and a Look Ahead, Annals of Internal Medicine,  Oct. 2, 2012, http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1363511.]

So with mobile technology comes new thinking about collaboration and EMR. Virtual services are less costly. But they allow more people to be served, more conveniently and efficiently. ­

For more information on how Intel helping to enable powerful and security mobile healthcare, please visit www.intel.com/healthcare/mobility.

Visit us at Booth #5845

About Intel: Intel Corporation’s vision is to deliver innovative computing technologies and solutions that will improve the quality of healthcare delivery and access while reducing unnecessary costs for billions of people worldwide. Intel teams with governments, healthcare organizations, and technology innovators worldwide to build tomorrow’s health IT tools and service.

We wanted to let you know about some of the key activities going on in the Intel Hospitality Suite during the three days of HIMSS14.

Our complimentary session will be digging deep into what’s new, such as from analytics, mobility, BYOx, cloud computing and more.  Click here to browse and register for the sessions that peak your interest.
 
The Intel Hospitality Suite
Room 340C, Convention Center
Suite 340C is located on Level III which can be accessed by using the West E/F Lobby escalator or elevator (on the main concourse).  The Suite is located at the North end.