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It all started with a tweet. Or rather, a presence on Twitter (@PorterResearch) that alerted organizers of the Healthcare IT Summit earlier this year to Porter Research's expertise in healthcare IT market research and trends.

A few phone calls later and a great working relationship between organizers at the Everything Channel (parent company of the summit) and Porter Research was born. Numerous e-mails, clogged inboxes and full voicemails culminated in Porter Research's opening-day summit session on " Interoperability in an HIE Environment - Today and Tomorrow."

The presentation, given by Cynthia Porter, President, and Allison Norfleet, Vice President of Business Development, drew a large crowd interested in finding out providers' perceptions of Health Information Exchange ( HIE ) with regard to:

• concerns, challenges and roadblocks;
• healthcare IT vendor preparedness; and
• the impact of the HITECH Act and Meaningful Use legislation on HIE strategy and planning.

Norfleet and Porter shared numerous insights with the audience of providers, payers, vendors and analysts, including an overview of the types of HIE technologies providers plan to purchase, and their timeframes for doing so; a list of the key attributes providers will look for in HIE vendors - cost/value being at the top of that list; and the indication that providers are most likely to look to a "vendor solely focused on delivering interoperability solutions" for their HIE solutions.

Additional insights included:

• Nearly half of all respondents indicated their primary strategic initiative is to "improve connectivity within the health system."
• While nearly half rated themselves as mostly prepared for Stage 1 requirements for HIE regarding Meaningful Use, just 26% believe they're prepared to meet requirements determined for Stages 2 and 3.
• Overall, 61% indicated they have made investments in technology to facilitate the HIE process.
• Over 40% of providers are unsure of what vendor they will consider for future HIE technology - leading to the conclusion that this is a market that is wide-open at the moment.

A lively panel discussion followed with William "Buddy" Gillespie, VP/CIO at WellSpan Health; Rich Kubica, CTO at Hartford Hospital; Rich Ogilvie, CIO/VP of Information Systems at Southwestern Vermont Healthcare; and Marie Roof, Senior VP of IT at Vibra Healthcare - all of whom echoed the survey's respondents in that cost is their biggest concern when it comes to adopting HIE technology. Security and consent - themes heard time and again throughout the summit - are also big issues at the panelists' facilities. Gillespie suggested these facilities need to embrace higher levels of encryption, and that cloud-based solutions can "open up a whole new can of worms."

The value of a national HIE was also debated. Roof put forth the idea that a national HIE isn't about acute care, but rather a repository/resource with which to identify trends in healthcare like epidemics, registries, etc., to better understand chronic care and move the wellness of a community forward.

The summit provided a great opportunity for providers, payers, vendors and Billian's HealthDATA analysts to mix, mingle, and educate each other. Speakers from IDC Health Insights, Motorola, McKinsey, Intersystems, UCLA Health Sciences and Nautilus Healthcare Management Group covered everything from operational efficiency, the medical grade cloud, EMRs and innovative collaborations to securely sharing data, consumer healthcare communication, healthcare IT payer strategies, accountable care organizations, and technology platforms for payers.

The unique format of the event - general sessions, payer and provider tracks, boardroom sessions, exhibits, one-on-one chats, lent itself even further to a more intimate, collaborative experience than found at some larger shows. And it certainly didn't hurt that the politically-charged comedy troupe Capitol Steps helped close out the event at the summit's innovation awards dinner. For more pictures from the event, visit the Porter Research Facebook page. The Porter Research team is definitely looking forward to the same great experience at next year's Healthcare IT Summit in Palm Springs.

Source: Billian's HealthDATA