eHealth by 2009

As this BizJournal article points out, initiatives to bring about electronic medical records (EMR) is on the rise. EMR has to be in place in 2009. The push is from hospitals and insurance companies - and Medicare payments. (The pull is coming from the ILECs who need to sell large pipes).

Because the task is so large, he's got volunteers lined up to help conduct telephone and fax follow-ups with providers who may not have Internet access. He's also enlisted the help of the state's health care associations as project advocates.

First, the state has an agreement with BellSouth that will allow practices to get on the broadband network for a lower cost than if they sought it alone, Agassi says.

Plus, a federal program through the Universal Service Administrative Company could provide 80 percent of the funds needed to get rural practices broadband access, and the state will help counties gain access to it.

Doctors are a PITA client. Besides being cheap, they are not tech savvy and are hard to sit down with. There are strategies to capture this market - as well as convince the doctor that technology can make his office more efficient, increase revenue, and decrease patient frustrations. He/She could become a proactive health care provider instead of reactive. Here's where hiring me for a marketing and sales plan pays off ;) [813.496.2122]