Siemens Health Services CEO Janet Dillione delivered an online keynote address in an informative webcast Tuesday, "ARRA Virtual Conference: Driving from Meaningful to Exceptional." The event is part of Siemens' larger online virtual health IT trade show, complete with breakout sessions and exhibits, all at the convenience of your computer.

Dillione urged health care providers and other professionals to recognize the pending priority of health IT adoption regardless of the current healthcare reform debate.

"The politics of reform are one issue. But what we are trying to do in the U.S. ... putting out a quality health care system, which implies an interoperable health care system, remains regardless of what continues to happen or may not happen in Washington," she said.
Dillione provided an honest appraisal of the pressing and challenging demand for health information technology adoption by doctors, hospitals, and providers. For instance, the standard for a qualified system is that it provide "meaningful use," a term now being defined by the government. She indicated that, while strict definitions are still being ironed out, the bar for achieving meaningful use is already set very high and practitioners need to be ready.

"Providers and others are angry that the bar is so high... [they have] concerns that process changes and implementations would affect patient care," she said. "We have to get going and accept it and move forward."

She also cautioned that, while incentives for health IT adoption are significant, the penalties are even greater. Incentives include $44 billion earmarked for health IT in the ARRA stimulus bill.

"The bulk of the discussion last year was, 'I want to get those incentive dollars,' " she said. "What's really happening most recently is, 'Wow-- if I don't get the incentive what I do get are the penalties.' And the penalties--the stick--is far larger than the carrot."

She said that after crunching numbers for one client, Siemens learned that the customer's HIT model would have resulted in $25 million in incentives for adoption. But if they didn't qualify, the customer was looking at $87
million in penalties.

"You are going to find that ratio ripple across the provider community," she said.

Dillione acknowledged that despite ongoing debate and some lack of standard language, American health care providers do have enough information to start a road map to health IT adoption.

"So many things are so well known, there is no reason not to get started. That which is fuzzy and unknown is dwarfed by what is known. So we have certain fundamentals that have to get done. Some of you are in an outstanding position and don't need to do much at all. Many, many are in the middle and simply need to finish. Some of you haven't started. When you look at the carrot versus the stick, you will see that not starting is no longer an option," she advised.

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