FAMILY MEDICINE LAYS OUT VISION FOR FUTURE OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY
Aim is ‘principled redesign’ that optimally supports health and health care in America
LEAWOOD, Kan., May 31, 2017—Family Medicine for America’s Health (FMAHealth) released a vision for the redesign of health information technology in America that lays out a list of expectations designed to close the gap in current health IT over the next ten years. In a paper published in the May/June 2017 issue of Annals of Family Medicine, the Technology Tactic Team of FMAHealth laid out specific goals and expectations over the next ten years with the ultimate aim—through improvements in health technology—of putting patients in greater control of their health.
“We believe that health IT currently in use does not support our vision for a health system that is sustainable and playing a central role in improving the health of the U.S. population,” said Jennifer L. Brull, MD, FAAFP, FMAHealth board member and liason to the group’s technology tactic team. “We hope that by setting forth a vision and specific expectations for the system to achieve over the next 10 years, we can help drive a national priority that helps us deliver better care and better outcomes at lower cost to the overall system—the triple aim.
The paper lays out specific expectations for health IT, addressing issues related to patient access, clinical decision-making, interoperability, integration and system redesign. Specific recommendations can be found here.
“This vision is guided by our commitment to lead a transformation in health care delivery, and our understanding that we need technology that fosters clinician insights, strengthens the physician-patient relationship, improves patient access to care, ensures seamless collaboration across the medical neighborhood to serve individual and public health, and allows patients to be in greater control of their own health. We believe these expectations can help lead the way,” said Steven Waldren, MD, MS, director of American Academy of Family Physicians’ Alliance for eHealth Innovation and chair of the FMAHealth Technology Tactic Team.
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About Family Medicine for America’s Health
Family Medicine for America’s Health is a five-year collaboration between the nation’s eight leading family medicine organizations to drive continued improvement of the U.S. health care system and demonstrate the value of true primary care. The collaboration includes:
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation
- American Board of Family Medicine
- American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians
- Association of Departments of Family Medicine
- Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors
- North American Primary Care Research Group
- Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
For more information on FMAHealth and the work of its tactic teams, go to www.fmahealth.org
Contacts:
Ann Saybolt, [email protected] / 703.969.2859
Kirsten Thistle, [email protected] / 301.802.4567
