Editor's Note: At press time, the Nashville Health Care Council was scheduled to host Health Information Technology & The Economic Stimulus, a panel discussion at the end of June to examine the broad implications of the federal HIT push. Nashville Medical News spoke with panelists in advance of the meeting about the challenges and opportunities for providers and for Nashville itself.

"This is the first time in this country that the United States government has put any serious money into electronic health records, so obviously we want to try to get it as right as we can." Those are the words of Don E. Detmer, MD, president and CEO of the American Medical Informatics Association.

 

One of several panelists scheduled to appear at the Nashville Health Care Council's HIT session in Cool Springs at the end of June, Detmer added, "The fact of the matter is that other parts of the world are moving forward in this; and frankly, we're behind. At some point, if we don't get involved, we're going to be really behind, and that's not smart."

 

It's that sense of urgency that prompted the NHCC to sponsor the session –– that, and a sense of opportunity. "Nashville is the perfect location to convene such a high-level discussion of key influencers in health information technology. The community is home to a vast majority of the nation's healthcare services providers, including a dynamic group of HIT companies. Funding for HIT in the economic stimulus directly influences these companies in terms of dollars for innovations and efficiencies, and the solutions derived from these innovations here in Nashville will positively impact quality care delivery nationwide," said Caroline Young, NHCC president.

 

While the HIT stimulus provides an impetus for providers –– from solo practices to sprawling hospital chains –– to board the HIT train, it also offers private enterprise a golden opportunity to meet market demands. That puts Nashville center stage, according to David J. Brailer, MD, chairman of San Francisco-based Health Evolution Partners and inaugural director of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. Also scheduled to speak at the NHCC event, Brailer said Nashville is in the position to "claim ownership" of the national HIT top spot.

 

"One of the things I'm going to talk about in Nashville is why I think Tennessee is so well-positioned to be one of those places that becomes a health IT equivalent of a biotech hub, if you want to call it that, where there are a lot of jobs and a lot of high-tech opportunities created. I think at the top level, the race is on," Brailer said. He then cited a host of Tennessee strengths that could be brought to bear: 

Brailer said he's spoken with the governors of several states and acknowledged that he's had discussions with Gov. Phil Bredesen. "I have talked with him from time to time. He gets it. A lot of governors do not get this. He gets it," he said. "Yet there's a lot more that has to happened than having the governor on board. You have to have the health industry saying, 'Wow, what an opportunity.'"

 

For Nashville to take the leadership role, the community must do more than have great ideas, Brailer added. Nashville must embrace home-grown HIT innovations, put them to use and demonstrate their efficacy. "It can't just talk the talk, it has to walk it. But there's really fertile ground in Nashville to walk on."

 

Brailer isn't convinced that the stimulus money will speed up HIT adoption – providers will just use the federal money instead of their own to make the investment, he noted. Yet he is convinced that the investment is inevitable. "You talk to doctors who are leaving residency or fellowship today, and they will tell you that they are not going to practice someplace that doesn't have electronic tools. That tells you that, in a matter time, it's game over. This will be done."

 

That means an opportunity for investors, too, and Brailer's Health Evolution Partners is looking Nashville's way. HEP is a healthcare investment firm that steers clear of what Brailer described as "the healthcare version of big oil." Instead, the firm invests in the healthcare version of wind and solar, "things that improve transparency, quality, efficiency, information, things that empower consumers. We're really betting on disruptive ideas that are going to be drivers of real quality and value improvement in healthcare," he said.