Tag Blog

Impact of the Stimulus on Healthcare

Saturday, March 14, 2009

http://reiboldt.com/?p=742
by reiboldt

If you will recall, I recently mentioned that I was co-chairing and moderating another event for the Technology Association of Georgia, where we are conducting a series of roundtables addressing the impact of the recession on the healthcare industry. The first event in January was focused on the general financial crisis and healthcare. This time, we discussed the impact of the economic stimulus package on healthcare technology. We once again hosted a “powerhouse” panel of experts, which included the director of IBM’s healthcare business and Coker’s Senior Vice President of Technology, as well as other industry experts from both the policy side and the private sector side.

First, let me say that the event was another huge success, and this one was even bigger than the January event. We once again were way over capacity and had to finally shut down registrations, not to mention the fact that the audience was standing-room only again. We also received more media attention this time, including Atlanta’s local ABC affiliate, WSB-TV, who has been focusing a great deal on the impact of the economy on jobs, which we addressed extensively in the context of the stimulus and healthcare. In addition, our friends at the Atlanta Business Chronicle also covered the event for us.

Second, the issues we addressed were extremely relevant and timely for the audience members. We will be coming out with a full report and more details on the specific issues and discussion, but as an overview, we talked about the details around the health IT provisions and $20 billion aimed at healthcare in the stimulus package. Further, we addressed what this could mean for jobs and rebuilding the economy in general. Finally, we looked at how all of this will impact the overall issue of healthcare reform and what the healthcare IT sector needs to make electronic medical records and other technologies a reality throughout the healthcare delivery system.

And finally, since we had another great panel, the discussion was very dynamic and I had many attendees mention afterwards that they benefitted from the information immensely. The primary reason I think this was the case is that I did not assemble a panel of folks that would just agree with each other on everything and say all of the same things. We had people that were all experts in their own specific areas; however, they brought different viewpoints, perspectives and agenda to the table, ultimately creating some great dynamic in the discussion, which was very helpful for the audience. In fact, the discussion started getting so deep and extensive at some points, I as the moderator, had to bring us back to the main issue, which was what the economic stimulus means for the healthcare industry, with a particular focus on healthcare technology.

The event was recorded, so we will once again be coming out with that footage in the next week or so. Further, the TAG Health Board (on which I sit), along with Coker’s Economic Stimulus Task Force, will come out with a formal report on the discussion soon, which will be published publicly, as well as be made available to key policymakers that we are working with to make sure the stimulus funds are used strategically and appropriately to maximize the benefit for the healthcare industry and healthcare consumers at large. In the meantime, if you have questions or would like more information on any of this, please do not hesitate to contact me.