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OVERVIEW
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| Overview
& Purpose |
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One of
the most salient developments in our society in recent years
has been the incredible advances that have been made in the
field of information technology. For most of us these developments
have changed our personal and professional lives. They are
also having a significant impact on health care — how it is
provided, how providers get information and treat patients,
and how consumers access health care and health care information.
As a result, State and local health policymakers may need
to re-think their roles and responsibilities in regard to
these issues.
The health
care field has the potential to benefit greatly from innovative
applications of new health care information technology (HCIT).
For example, on-line access to health information, integrated
electronic medical records, and computer-based information
systems can provide practitioners with real-time assistance
in their decisionmaking and significantly improve quality
of care and patient safety. It has also been suggested that
these technologies have the potential to lower health care
costs. Indeed, the potential for improvement may be even greater
for health care systems, because the health care industry
lags behind many others in the application of new information
technologies due to the system's longstanding reliance on
provider-entered pen and paper record keeping.
For State
and local policymakers, developments in health care informatics
bring not only exciting opportunities, but some very real
challenges. Emerging health care informatics technologies
raise difficult questions to be addressed:
- What
specific health care informatics applications are most likely
to have the greatest impact on my State's health care delivery
system and, ultimately, on the health and safety of the
residents of my State or local area?
- What
health services research exists regarding the impact of
specific health care informatics applications on the cost,
quality, and safety of health care delivery systems?
- How
can developments in informatics improve program performance
and policymaking by making information needed for decisionmaking
more available to program officials, providers, and consumers?
- How
can I systematically assess the multitude of informatics
strategies and systems proposed for my support, adoption,
or funding and avoid the uncritical pursuit of the "latest
and greatest" technological advances?
To assist
State and local officials in addressing these important questions,
AHRQ offers this series of three Web-assisted audio teleconferences:
Event
#1:
The Potential Impact of Clinical Informatics on Health Care
Costs, Quality, and Safety
Wednesday, July 25, 2001
2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT
Event
#2:
Using Informatics to Improve Program Performance: Examples
of Innovative State Applications
Thursday, July 26, 2001
2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT
Event
#3:
Getting Information into the Hands of Decisionmakers: Innovative
Applications and Issues
Wednesday, August 1, 2001
2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT
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| Intended
Audience |
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Web-assisted teleconference series will be particularly valuable
to State and local officials who have responsibility for making
policy and resource allocation decisions influencing the extent
to which information technology is used in State and local health
programs. These officials would include State legislators and
their staff, Governors' offices, senior officials with health
departments, Medicaid agencies, employee health benefit programs,
budget and insurance commissioners' offices, as well as local
policymakers. |
| Web-assisted
Teleconference Format |
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Each Web-assisted
teleconference will address a separate aspect of the health
care safety net and will last about 90 minutes. Participants
are welcome to register for single or multiple sessions. Each
event will feature a panel of experts in the field who will
answer questions from the audience via interactive Web Q&A
or over the phone. The events will be moderated by Cindi DiBiasi,
former health and science journalist, TV news anchor, and
currently principal with Ignition Strategic Communications,
Washington, DC.
The teleconference
will be available in a Webcast version and also in a conventional
audio teleconference format. Presentation slides, audio, examples
of Web-based informatics applications, and an online chat
will be provided through the Webcast, and simultaneously the
audio portion of the program will be available by phone for
participants who prefer to use their telephones instead of
their computers. To participate in the Webcast version, you
will need a computer with an Internet connection, Internet
Explorer or Netscape, and audio capability (includes a sound
card and speakers, and the free, downloadable Basic
RealPlayer 8 plug-in software).
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| Costs |
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will be no charge for participation, but we would appreciate
feedback on the usefulness of this format for sharing up-to-the-minute
information on the topics that most concern you in health care
delivery and policy. Please invite your colleagues to join us
for any or all of the events. |
| How
to Register - |
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Click
on the button above to register for any or all three of the
Web-assisted teleconferences. You must register at least three
business days before the first event if you are registering
for all three events, or three days before a specific event
if you are not registering for the full series. You will receive
an automated e-mail confirmation (or a fax confirmation, if
you register by fax) that includes the Web address, toll-free
number (if accessing audio by phone), and access code for
joining the teleconference.
If you
have additional questions about registering for these Web-assisted
teleconferences, you may contact Maureen Ball, the ULP contact
at Health Systems Research, Inc. (AHRQ's contractor for the
teleconference series) at 202-828-5100.
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