There is no doubt that the healthcare industry is one of today’s most technologically advanced sectors. And yet surprisingly, it is also one of the most inefficient when it comes to information technology (IT), leading to billions of dollars in wasteful spending annually. David Cutler, a professor of applied economics at Harvard University, and an expert in the economics of healthcare, estimates that of the $2.5 trillion spent on healthcare this past year, around $800 billion was wasted spending. Of that $800 billion wasted, between $20 and $100 billion are likely the result of preventable errors, many derived from IT inefficiency.
In a video interview from Dec. 31, 2009 with James Surowiecki of The New Yorker, Cutler discusses the Senate’s health care reform bill and the $30 billion stimulus designating for improving healthcare IT. He argues that the healthcare industry must not only invest in new IT, but more significantly, it must commit to using it. Value will not only be derived from the elimination of errors, but from the integration of high priority information into the daily work flow. Business will run more smoothly, money will be saved, and patients will get better care.
Information can only work for you when it gets to the right people at the right time, in medicine and in communications. At Russo Partners, we are at the forefront of communication technology, assuring our clients prompt delivery and specific targeting of high priority information. Healthcare PR must grow with the healthcare industry, and we at Russo Partners strive to keep our clients in sync with everything communication innovation has to offer.
