Healthcare IT in Focus at Breakaway

Last year, we found that three in four IT firms believed their healthcare clients were eager to incorporate new technologies into their practices.  Our study also found that among healthcare providers, 59 percent were excited about the prospect of telemedicine and 79 percent were interested in portable tablet PCs for point-of-patient care.  So how do you tap into the emerging healthcare IT market?

Many IT companies are interested, but the challenge of penetrating a new market with a unique and complex environment can be daunting. We’re stepping up to help the IT channel get educated.  At Breakaway 2010, we’ll offer a comprehensive track on the basics of the healthcare ecosystem and how to build a healthy healthcare IT business.

Check out:

• Healthcare 101: An Introduction to Transforming Your Business, Tuesday, Aug. 10 - Get the basics on the healthcare market. Learn whom you should meet to do business; key obstacles to overcome; and how to decipher and navigate the many policies and regulations impacting this market.  Results from our latest research on the healthcare IT market will be presented during this session.


• Cracking the HIT Nut - What You Need to Know About Building a Healthcare IT Practice, Wednesday. Aug. 11 – While healthcare IT is a huge opportunity for technology solutions providers, it’s not without its complexities and nuances. In this session, Patrick Wilson, president, Vital Signs Technology Inc., of San Ramon, Calif., will present an overview of our new Healthcare IT Guide, a ten-week plan for a building a practice.


• Building Your HIT Blueprint – Assessing the IT Needs of a Healthcare Provider to Become a Trusted Advisor, Thursday, August 12 – This workshop will provide you with an actionable plan and specific next steps for how best to assess a healthcare provider's current IT environment and what’s needed to transition them to an electronic health records system. Patti Dodgen, chief executive officer, Hielix, will present.

“The cost of implementing an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system is a significant investment to an ambulatory or any physician practice,” Hielix CEO Patti Dodgen commented. “In an environment where Medicare reimbursement rates continue to drop, practices of every size are challenged to achieve ‘meaningful use’ and to do so without in-house expertise, against a fast approaching deadline. It’s no wonder the current EHR failure rate is estimated near 75 percent.” 

 Sounds like a ripe market opportunity?  What are you doing to get your piece of the healthcare IT pie?