Reforming Healthcare: IBM Viewpoint

By even the most cursory analysis, America is obviously in the throes of a real healthcare crisis; a health care infra-structure that is in need of a whole new model. According tho this WebWire® release, IBM has positioned itself to provide significant impetus toward the transformation of America’s healthcare industry by spearheading a groundbreaking consortium of healthcare and health information technology organizations focused to develop a 21st century healthcare network.

These efforts intend to address a dramatic flaw in a healthcare system plagued by underperformance according to worldwide comparison. More than 100,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors, adding up to up to more fatalities than from AIDS, homicides, and traffic accidents combined, according to this WebWire® release. "Lifesaving medical advances have not come accompanied by improvements in the way members of the healthcare ecosystem (from public and private payers, to providers, researchers and consumers) use IT to work with one another. As a result, the "system," such as it is, functions much like a fragmented cottage industry".

A well documented recent study by the Rand Corporation supports this and reports, as well, that a modern healthcare IT infrastructure could save the industry and consumers up to $165 billion per year. Saving lives and saving money could be an "infectious" idea whose time has very much come to an ailing American health care system.