November 13th, 2008
Will running start for health IT reform be a good thing?
Last night on Mythbusters the gang disproved the myth of the “running start.”
Friction is the culprit. You’re moving your legs in the air but then have to re-grip the track. Your moving bike tires stop once they hit the ground. Even a car goes slower after a running start.
Which brings us to the running start current HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has tried to give health IT reform. His government effort has shut down, but a public-private successor group remains.
There is a natural bit of friction in any Presidential transition. Will the AHIC Successor group resist the new Administration or follow its lead? Will the new Administration try to scrap AHIC Successor or adapt to its existance?
The directors of AHIC Successor show it to be a promising group, with a wide range of stakeholders represented, including two from the VA. The executive director is also a VA veteran.
The key man, as I have noted here before, is Dr. Robert Kolodner. He has extensive experience with the VA’s open source VistA system. Will he understand the need for free, non royalty bearing interconnection to a universal standard?
The promise is that these folks can negotiate open standards that vendors and buyers can then follow to assure systems interoperate.
The question is whether the new HHS Secretary will direct the group in that direction, start with a blank slate, or come in with their own program.
My only real concern about AHIC Successor is the size of the board. When tough decisions have to be made it’s best when there are fewer people in the room.
But if you really want to see the fate of health reform in the next Administration, keep your eyes here. There is ample opportunity for mischief in this structure, but also a real chance for reform.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 11/13/08
