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    10 Predictions for Health Information Technology in 2016

    10 Predictions for Health Information Technology in 2016

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    10)         CHIME/HIMSS will be worth people’s time to attend! Every year, the brightest folks in HIT gather at CHIME events and HIMSS conferences. The knowledge they’ll share this year will be well worth people’s time to attend and lead to even more HIT innovations.

    9)           A path to a National Patient ID will be identified. The ability to appropriately share patient information between systems relies on positive patient identification with every transaction.

    8)           Meaningful use will become irrelevant. Adoption of EHRs is happening quickly and the need for policies to enforce that adoption are becoming unnecessary.

    7)           “Big Data” will be de-hyped. A decline in the theoretical approach being called “Big Data” will subside to simply using data appropriately and reliably.

    6)           The gap between EHR vendors will grow as technology weaknesses show.  The number of EHRs on the market today will be significantly reduced as adopters reveal the flaws in some products.

    5)           Standards will continue to be a big topic with limited traction. The important discussion around standards is taking place, but it needs more teeth (in the form of policy) to take hold in the industry.

    4)           Awesome innovations for patients and providers. We’ll see new and amazing technology that will help both patients and providers.

    3)           HIT will be more a part of the care process! Information Technology in healthcare will no longer be an aside of the business; IT will be part of the care process where providers and technology experts work more closely together.

    2)           HIT will be a presidential election issue. The upcoming presidential election will see candidates sharing their plans for healthcare and HIT’s role.

    1)           Cybersecurity will be the number 1 issue in Health IT. The security of health information is critical. Securing data effectively will require collaboration between health organizations, policy makers, and patients.

    Marc Probst, CIO and Vice President at Intermoutain Healthcare, has been in the HIT industry for over 30 years and is board chair of the Health Information Management Services Society. He often shares his views about HIT initiatives, policy, and technology on Twitter. You can follow him there at @probst_marc.