The Consumer Partnership for e-Health released consumer and employer responses to criticism about various aspects of the ctory/meaningful-use" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">ctory/meaningful-use" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">meaningful use criteria for EHR adoption. At first blush, it was surprising to see general support for the criteria. Then again, this nonpartisan group comprising consumer, patient, and labor organizations whose mission is to improve healthcare quality and achieving a patient-centered healthcare system through IT and knowledge sharing, represents some pretty knowledgeable parties. In other words, their responses aren't from the general public who are given sound bytes on healthcare reform and transformation.
After reading the arguments and the responses, I got this vision of someone from ONC composing the rebuttals. Jokes aside, the responses were thoughtful and very reasonable. This introduction of consumer/employer response into the public debate is necessary. Up to now, we've heard from various association groups representing healthcare IT and providers. It's time we heard from the consumers. While this response is great - because we need to hear from informed consumers and employer groups - the next response we need to hear from is the general public. The true general public. The Joe the Plumbers in the heartland, for instance. First off the bat, I'd like to know what they've been hearing in their communities about healthcare IT and how it can or can't help transform the industry. I'd like to know what they think and what informed their opinions.
I think privacy and security are likely the top concerns. At the Q&A section of a HIMSS10 education session involving a panel of federal CIOs, a gentleman commented that he hadn't heard any talk from them about privacy and security of electronic patient records. When you get this kind of feedback, it's critical that both public and private supporters of healthcare IT address this concern. As one panelist noted, this issue is always front and center. It may be apparent to those of us following the issue, but it needs to be discussed more widely and deeply with the general public. Without public support, healthcare IT adoption is going to be a much harder goal to achieve.
Those of us in the industry read about and follow this issue every day. Those of us who write about the issue write for a specific audience. With the public comment on the meaningful use criteria days away from being closed, it's still not too late to really flesh out the benefits and challenges of healthcare IT to the ones who will be impacted just as much as the providers - the patients/consumers.
