Comprehensive e-Health Information Technology Managed Services

No doubt the healthcare industry is in the midst of major changes. The U.S. government, under the stimulus program and healthcare reform initiative, seeks healthcare coverage for all Americans and reduced delivery costs. The goals are aggressive, the outcomes are uncertain. What is certain, however, is that the adoption of a universally available patient health record is destined to play a critical role in any cost reduction effort, whether driven by government or by the healthcare industry.

The precursor to the Electronic Health Record (EHR) is the implementation by both hospitals and medical practices of an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system within all touchpoints that serve the patient. Return on investment, particularly for the smallest medical practices, is being closely analyzed against incentives offered under ARRA to speed up the process. As decisions are made to proceed, as is predicted by most experts, practices will face a new level of technology issues. EMR, the solution itself, will only be as robust as the underlying infrastructure that supports it. The complexity of patient records, with high image content and intense regulatory requirements for security protection and performance, requires a new level of technical support. Small practices will have to adopt new IT practices, those commonly used by the largest, most sophisticated technology users, to ensure successful EMR/EHR deployment.

In collaboration with Spirit Telecom, a major high speed, high performance communications infrastructure provider, SBT Partners has developed the e-Health Information Technology Managed Services Quadrant. We think it will be valuable in promoting discussion among medical practices facing the challenge of EMR/EHR.

The detailed e-Health IT Managed Services Quadrant white paper, describing our approach to the healthcare information technology landscape with specifics on the Quadrant, is accessible within the Knowledge Center located on this page.