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
    UV damage to eyes
    Warning Signs of Long-Term UV Damage to Your Eyes
    December 9, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    The Ultimate Healthcare Recruiting and Staffing Guidebook
    March 21, 2022
    medicare part d benefits
    Everything that You Need to Know About Medicare Part D
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 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
    Conservatives: The Utah Health Exchange is Not a Model
    July 23, 2011
    Medical Malpractice Reform Losing Physician Support
    November 7, 2011
    Hospitals Aim to Apply Direct Payments of Care Delivery to Increase Resources
    August 28, 2012
    Latest News
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Investment in Healthcare IT is on the Rise – Are We Ready for Change?
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 > Investment in Healthcare IT is on the Rise – Are We Ready for Change?
BusinesseHealthTechnology

Investment in Healthcare IT is on the Rise – Are We Ready for Change?

Jonathan Govette
Last updated: May 13, 2013 11:46 am
Jonathan Govette
Share
7 Min Read
Image
SHARE

Image

We all know healthcare is massively broken, we know that we are light-years behind every other industry, we still use fax machines, we still use pagers, and we still ask patients to courier their own documents and images.

But there is a glimmer of hope at the end of a long, dark, technology disengaged tunnel.

 

More Read

Insulin Nasal Spray Could Delay Cognitive Function Decline
Digital Marketing Best Practices for Vein Clinics
Are Epiphanies the Key to Fixing Healthcare?
Texas Hospital Won’t Hire Employees With BMI Higher Than 35
Mass. Study – Insurance Costs Still Too High

Image

We all know healthcare is massively broken, we know that we are light-years behind every other industry, we still use fax machines, we still use pagers, and we still ask patients to courier their own documents and images.

But there is a glimmer of hope at the end of a long, dark, technology disengaged tunnel.

 

Investing in our future…

Luckily for the healthcare industry, Health IT implementation and investment is growing at a rapid pace.  In April alone, $332 Million in total was invested in Health startups.  The investment has grown almost 5 times from the last year’s total in the same time period (14 deals in April 2012 versus 67 for April 2013)

Check out the slideshare below for more details on the current status of the investment in healthcare.

April 2013 StartUp Health Insights Funding Report from StartUp Health

 

VentureBeat’s HealthBeat 2013

Since Health IT is getting red hot, VentureBeat is hosting its very own conference called HealthBeat, which your very own referralMD is competing this month.

Over 150 companies applied and 10 were chosen to compete for some great prizes, including a 250K investment from Venrock.

Check out the press release here.

 

Outlook for the future

Time will tell how much the investments will pay off, unfortunately most applications that are being released have no monetization strategy, and are centered on patient’s managing their own healthcare, which are not viable businesses in the “real-world”

Monetization

Free “apps” are bad for the healthcare industry.

1. Free things are never really free. When we don’t fork over dollars for products or services, we think of them as free. But we always give up something. When it comes to online services, that something is usually personal data or content you’ve created — think Practice Fusion, whose privacy policies obscure the line between what you own vs. what they own. For consumers, that might be an acceptable bargain. But for businesses that trade may be unacceptable.

2. Free services don’t serve you. Free services can’t provide great customer service. You know this to be true if you’ve ever sent an email to a free service to get help. Imagine relying on one of those free services to run your business!. What happens when you need help, and you need it now?

3. Free services for businesses don’t last. Free services for small businesses come and go. Google Apps used to be free, now it isn’t. Free services don’t last for the small businesses because the market is so challenging to reach and serve. My guess is that understanding the market challenges is the key to why Google Apps for Business going paid is a good thing for small businesses.  Did you know Practice Fusion has yet to make any profit? How is that good for its investors?

Patient Centered Healthcare – a low 6% adoption rate

The problem with patient portals is that they are not seen as an integral part of the care process. In fact, we would argue that the use of the terms PHR and EHR create an artificial division – let’s just call it a CHR (Collaborative Health Record) and be done with it. But alas, such is not the case. Ask your local HCO where funding for their patient portal comes from – 9 times out of 10 they’ll say the marketing budget. As we reported from this year’s HIMSS conference, sure there was talk of patient engagement via portals but the message was one pitched to the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and not the other CMO, the Chief Medical Officer.

Yes folks, today the patient portal has very little to do with the patient being an integral part of the care team. No, the patient portal is all about improving consumer/patient satisfaction scores and more tightly linking the consumer to a given HCO. Therefore, is it any wonder then that if a patient portal is not viewed as an integral part of the care process then physicians are unlikely to actively advocate its use leading to a market where consumer adoption and use of patient portals remains at a paltry 6% or so nationwide.

 

Conclusion

Our choices in healthcare are numerous, but many are not aquatically set up to build a solid company with profit.  This is a red flag that most providers need to review and make a decision when they choose a company to do business with.  Will the company be in business in 3 to 5  years?  Will they help me with my business?  Will they make me money? or at least generate a savings?

Choose wisely my friends…

The post Investment in Healthcare IT is on the Rise – Are We Ready for Change? appeared first on Electronic Referral Management System – Doctors and Physicians.

TAGGED:investment
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025
recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025

You Might also Like

PQRS: Alphabet Soup with Little Meaning

April 12, 2013

How to Recover from a HIPAA Breach

April 3, 2015

Patients to Have Right to Access Lab Test Result Data

February 7, 2014

Healthcare Associated Infections: What is the Message, and What Can We Do About Them?

July 9, 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?