I’ve been spending the past couple days at the MGMA Annual conference in Las Vegas. It’s been interesting to talk to many of the leaders in healthcare. There seems to be a lot of confusion and uncertainty in the air. In fact, that seems to be the case at all the healthcare conferences I’m attending lately. While the industry is going through a turbulent period, it’s still been interesting to see the ongoing evolution that’s happening.
The Twitter stream has been a little disappointing to me. I’d like to see more attendees tweeting content. The vendors are extremely active. However, I found a few tweets which highlight a few of the topics being discussed.
“A fancy electronic patient record, unconnected, is just an expensive way to capture data” Steve Lohr, via @NewYorkTimes, #MGMA14
— David Schoolcraft (@hitech_lawyer) October 27, 2014
I’m always amazed with how many people want their EHR to be connected. If it being connected was so valued by end users, then why hasn’t it happened? There’s still a misalignment of incentives that needs to be solved.
Integrating quality: Perhaps filter 15% of #physician compensation through #quality measures? -Will Reiser @HalleyConsults #MGMA14
— Richard Pizzi (@HFNeditor) October 27, 2014
Lots of these ideas floating around. Everyone agrees that the move to some sort of quality based reimbursement is coming. We’re going to see a lot more discussions like the one above. Unfortunately, right now it’s a lot of speculation.
Great session! RT @Grimshawtweets: Docs, administrators explore options for retirement & alignment #MGMA14 "Can This Practice Be Saved?"
— James Lineberger (@JMLineberger) October 27, 2014
I wasn’t able to make this session, but it certainly brings up some interesting questions. We’ve written a number of times before about the value of a practice with and without an EHR. This certainly seems to call into question whether a practice without EHR is worth saving. This is going to become a really interesting topic as more doctors who’ve never used EHR in their practice decide to retire.