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While the advantages of Internet connectivity may be old news in other sectors, healthcare has been slower to respond to the gathering momentum of Web-based technologies. Pleased with the service they receive in other industries, consumers are bringing high expectations to their healthcare experiences. Those healthcare organizations that can adapt to an increasingly technological environment will find opportunities for improving clinical outcomes, enhancing communication, and maximizing resources.
When describing his organization's response to the "e-volution" of our nation's healthcare system, Jim Henderson, FACHE, executive vice president of Methodist Health Care System in Houston, finds inspiration in hockey legend Wayne Gretsky. "Someone once asked Gretsky what made him better than other players," Henderson says. "He responded that most everyone skates to where the puck is, but he skates to where the puck is going to be."
Like Gretsky, visionary healthcare leaders will find success when they position themselves proactively. Those like Methodist's Henderson try to anticipate the direction today's Internet technologies will take. "You must first recognize that tomorrow's healthcare system is going to be dramatically different than what we have had in the past-and that the Internet is going to be a critical component of that change," Henderson says. But because the Internet's promise is long-term, some executives struggle to determine just how-or iftheir investment will pay off.
While committing to an Internet strategy can be risky not committing can prove even riskier. Adapting to a Web-driven environment is no longer a choice-it is an imperative. Only those healthcare organizations willing to apply Internet technologies on increasingly complex levels will maximize their position in healthcare's e-volutionary process.
Using IT Strategically
Many healthcare organizations use IT resources to reengineer old processes, rather than to invest strategically. Technology should be a formal component of an organization's business strategy, not just a tool for supporting it. According to Trish Birch, partner, Healthcare Technology Practice, Central Region, at Deloitte Consulting, Chicago, over half of all payors have an Internet strategy in place or are currently developing one. Yet leaders on the provider side have been slower in addressing Webrelated issues. During a focus group held by Deloitte Consulting at the annual HIMSS conference in April, Birch found that on average, only 2 of 15 provider CIOs had established any...