Former Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman says that although the GOP senators who called for a "reboot" of the Meaningful Use incentive program make some valid points, their conclusions are "incorrect."
In a recent post published to HealthDataManagement, Tullman. who now serves as Managing Director at investment firm, 7wire Ventures, says that the senators' arguments "focus on a few trees while the forest as a whole keeps growing."
He calls the senators' assertion that maintenance of electronic health record systems will be too costly for providers "a weak one," saying that it's much cheaper to maintain a computer system than a paper file operation.
Tullman adds that paper records threaten patient safety.
"When Hurricane Katrina hit and tens of thousands of paper records were lost forever, putting thousands of patients at risk, no one said we should return to paper," he says in the HealthDataManagement post.
In another recent post in Becker's Hospital Review, Tullman talks about interoperability and connectivity in healthcare, saying that hospital CEOs, among other things, would be wise to focus on making systems more accessible in a mobile sense. "In Silicon Valley, they say 'Mobile First,' which means everything needs to begin with a phone, which is a good lesson for patient connectivity," he says. "It's no longer about your website."
In arguing that the senators' assertions are incorrect, Tullman joins the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association, the American Hospital Association and others in support of the Meaningful Use incentive program.
To learn more:
- here's Tullman's HealthDataManagement post
- read Tullman's post in Becker's Hospital Review