Celebrating National Health IT Week

It’s National Heath IT Week, which celebrates the role of information and technology in transforming health. This year’s theme is ‘Supporting Health Communities,’ and focuses on supporting healthy communities and driving the transformation of the U.S. health and wellness system to promote better health outcomes.

In honor of National Health IT Week we’re sharing stories and testimonials from our Post-Acute Insights team, and business partner, Jim Riemenschneider from COMS Interactive, about why they “heart” health IT, and why they chose a career in this industry.

“My grandmother had a stroke, went to the hospital and was admitted to a skilled nursing facility. Two days later she had to go back because she never got her blood pressure meds. It wasn’t because they weren’t the best provider, it was because the fax came a day late and no one knew about it. That’s part of our mission to solve that. It’s personal, we all connect to it, and we can’t do it alone. It’s about liberating the data, getting the right data to the right place at the right time. It’s too important not
to change.”
– BJ Boyle, Vice President & General Manager, Post-Acute Insights

“We build systems for people who are caring for some of the most vulnerable patients  in the continuum. While I don’t have the skillsets or the capability of being ‘hands on’ during their time of need, being a part of health IT provides me an opportunity to help improve the lives of those receiving care and the people providing that care. Finding ways that we can use technology to improve their experience and make the experience more human is what makes everything we do worthwhile.”
– Sean Vandeweerd, Senior Product Manager, Post-Acute Insights.

“I’ve seen first-hand how not using technology to focus on all of a patient’s needs can be detrimental. In 2007, my father was being treated for gastric cancer and due to his low immune system, he contracted pneumonia. My father needed to be intubated for 10 days and it was evident that the hospital staff were not given the IT tools needed to care for him properly. Physicians would come into the room and not know how other clinicians were providing care. They would say “I cannot see the most recent chest x-ray” or “the hospital systems do not talk to one another.” It was frustrating to us as his family to watch him struggle to stay alive under the care of quality medical professionals. Today, with data exchange, the right visibility, and the right passion from quality caregivers, these kinds of blind spots do not have to occur. Thank you, health IT!”
– Cory Fosco, Director, Business Development, Post-Acute Insights

“I have always wanted to help people and thought about nursing as a career. A short stint as a candy striper led me to the conclusion that I was not made for direct patient care (think almost passing out when seeing a wound). I am so lucky to have found my passion in making care better by providing tools to healthcare providers! It is so gratifying to know we are building products that allow physicians and nurses to spend more time with their patients and provide better care! When my 7-year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in January it only reinforced how important the work we do is! Making sure patients get the right medication, the right dose, and at the right time is the cornerstone of quality care. I have worked with sliding scales in the software world for years but nothing could prepare me for how it important it was to me when it was my son getting that insulin. This passion excites me every day to show up and keep doing better!”
– Sandy Hebert, Senior Director, Professional Services-Post Acute Insights

“I heart health IT because it can alleviate providers’ pain. Our customers do some of the most difficult jobs and Health IT can take some of the pressure off by enabling care givers with insights. This helps them better coordinate care, identify when to take action with which patients, and make effective decisions about care delivery. I heart health IT because I heart our customers and the impact they make when they’re needed most!”
– Kelly McAndrew, Director, Operations, Post-Acute Insights

“Growing up, I always wanted to work as a healthcare provider.  One day in high school, I job shadowed my family physician and those plans quickly went out the window.  I knew I didn’t have it in me to do some of the procedures he talked to me about, but I still wanted to help patients. Working in Health IT marketing allows me to still help patients by delivering solutions and information to market that improve their healthcare experiences and education.”
– Gina Mitchell, Segment Marketing Manager, Post-Acute Insights

“There is a clear correlation between health IT and improving outcomes. I have been focused on using standard process and health IT to improve clinical and financial outcomes in post-acute care for 30 years. There is more opportunity today for providers to use health IT to improve outcomes for patients and benefit financially. I am passionate about being able to work daily with providers to improve clinical outcomes and better position their organizations for current and future success. Health IT will transform current manual processes that create significant efficiencies while enabling critical, real-time clinical support for frontline staff. Additionally, the ability to manage elderly patients across the continuum has been almost impossible without Health IT. Health IT will integrate the continuum of care allowing for seamless management from acute care to post-acute care to home allowing for proactive management of clinically complex patients with multiple chronic conditions. Most importantly, we must use Health IT to improve clinical outcomes and manage the ever-increasing cost of our healthcare system.”
– Jim Riemenschneider, Chief Revenue Officer, COMS Interactive

Tell us why you love health IT by using #IHeartHealthIT and #NHITWeek on Twitter or Facebook!