 |
|
Chris Gibbons, |
Chris Gibbons, with the John Hopkins Urban Health Institute, shares his predictions for the “most promising health technology trends that may prove significant in the year ahead”, the first five are:
- Electronic Medical Records (EMR) – expect huge growth in this area mostly because of the more than $30 billion worth of incentives due to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH)
- Electronic Health Records (EHR)/Personal Health Records (PHR) – usage will grow, one reason, more patients want more control and access to their own information. Wonder what the difference is between an EHR and PHR? Who enters the information and who owns it. EHRs are thought to be owned by the healthcare provider who is also entering the information. Whereas information entered in a PHR can be by anyone, including the patient, and is generally considered to be the patient’s property.
- Telemedicine/Telehealth – this method of care is experiencing resurgence due in part to increasing computer processing power allowing for better audio and video communications and decreasing costs.
- Populomics – a new comprehensive way to study health problems and create solutions by looking at the whole picture: psychological and physical traits, cultural and ethnic identities, home, work, school environments as well as a person’s health beliefs.
- Health improvement Technology (HiT) – the next evolution of health information technology representing the shift from developing another electronic gadget to making a electronic tool designed to actually improve specific healthcare need.