By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Health IT: Getting Beyond the Hype and Focusing on Valuable Content
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Health IT: Getting Beyond the Hype and Focusing on Valuable Content
BusinessTechnology

Health IT: Getting Beyond the Hype and Focusing on Valuable Content

ShahidShah
Last updated: March 21, 2014 8:00 am
ShahidShah
Share
4 Min Read
health IT cheerleaders
SHARE

health IT cheerleadersMy friend John Lynn was kind enough to cover the new HealthIMPACT Conference that I’m chairing in Houston on April 3 in his recent piece entitled “Getting Beyond the Health IT Cheerleaders, BS, and Hype Machine“.

health IT cheerleadersMy friend John Lynn was kind enough to cover the new HealthIMPACT Conference that I’m chairing in Houston on April 3 in his recent piece entitled “Getting Beyond the Health IT Cheerleaders, BS, and Hype Machine“. While the article was great, Beth Friedman’s comment was priceless:

What are the criteria to be considered part of the cheerleader squad? This PR agency wants to be sure we are providing valuable, actionable, [practical], relevant content….NOT HYPE! And we’re open to your guidance.

John gave her a great reply:

It’s interesting how in high school you always wanted to be a cheerleader, but in marketing you don’t want to be seen as the cheerleader;-)

I think your description describes what you need to do to avoid hype. You have to focus on what really matters to the customers. Provide value to the customer as opposed to trying to sale your product. A deep understanding of the domain will create a relationship where people trust your views and then can talk about what you’re doing to solve their problems which you understand deeply.

Since Beth posted a great question I wanted to do it justice by answering more specifically. 

More Read

chicago skyline
Chicago: The Future Health Tech Hub of the US?
Who Will Save the Independent Physicians?
How Medical Equipment Leasing Helps Hospitals Stay On The Cutting Edge Of Tech
Defending the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY)
Is Our Medicaid System Vulnerable to Collapse in 2014?

Health IT “Cheerleaders” in my mind are those that push technology without considering deep value, return on investment, return on assets, and productivity loss. The hype machine is built around technology when health IT “cheerleaders” focus more on the gadgetry itself rather than the value proposition. If content is built around workflows, workflow optimization, and those tasks within existing or new workflows that optimize patient care through the use of technology then that’s real value.

This morning a college student sent a great question around health IT related productivity loss:

I am currently working on a capstone project for my MBA and my team is required to address a set of challenges as well as opportunities. One of the challenges they seem to be concerned the most [about] is the reduction in productivity of the physicians during and after the implementation of the EHR platform (they are currently working on a paper-base workflow). Since EMR requires doctors to type in the information which eventually takes significantly larger amount of time compared to their traditional method of handwriting, they are asking about ideas what they should do.

I replied that this sounds like a great project – and promptly advised them to conduct an analysis on whether the concern or productivity loss is warranted. I suggested they do a current workflow analysis to figure out their efficiency of existing steps and how those steps would change after an EHR is installed. If such an analysis is not done, evidence-driven technology choices cannot be made.

For a great example of how to build content around clinical workflows, check out HRSA’s guidance. It’s still surprising to me how many of us in the tech business suggest usage of technology without a deep understanding of workflow. Progress will come, and cheerleading will be reduced, when tech meets workflow in a measurable way.

(health “cheerleaders” / shutterstock)

TAGGED:Health IT
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

Artificial IntelligenceMedical InnovationsTechnology

Is Virtual Reality the Next Big Thing for Mental Health?

July 1, 2019
mobile apps
eHealthMobile HealthPolicy & LawTechnology

5 Pitfalls Mobile App Developers Face with HIPAA Compliance

June 2, 2014
3d printing
Technology

5 Tech Trends in Healthcare in 2015

March 9, 2015

CeQur Develops Diabetes Compliance Device

April 27, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?