Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/717576
70 CIO / HEALTH IT The Productivity Paradox: EHRs Need to Be Tough Now to Gain Efficiencies Later By Akanksha Jayanthi T he productivity paradox is the phe- nomenon that investing in IT leads to an initial decline in improvement and productivity instead of the expected immedi- ate improvement in processes. It's a paradox widely observed in the healthcare industry following the implementation of EHRs. While times are challenging now, there is still promise for the future, according to Robert Wachter, MD, professor and interim chair of the Department of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco. In a letter published in Annals of Internal Medicine, Dr. Wachter explores the produc- tivity paradox in healthcare and writes that the industry can look to others for instances in which initially diminished productivity ul- timately leads to the desired outcomes. "e history of the productivity paradox in oth- er industries offers great cause for hope in healthcare, in that it seems to eventually re- solve," Dr. Wachter writes. However, he says it typically takes about a decade for those efficiencies to be realized. With the majority of hospitals adopting EHRs within the past five years, it may be another five until this technology produces the desired outcomes, by Dr. Wachter's calculations. The paradox highlights two main factors of achieving enhanced productivity through IT, according to Dr. Wachter. The first is that technology needs to continually im- prove, which he says it inevitably does. The second and more nuanced factor is that users need to reimagine their work for a more digital age, which Dr. Wachter says is a difficult thing for people to do. He quotes carmaker Henry Ford who reportedly said, "If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said 'faster horses.'" True improvements in quality and productivi- ty are only achieved once people have worked with technology and begin questioning the old way of doing things, according to Dr. Wachter. In healthcare, some of those questions for pro- viders may be about why rounding happens in a certain way, why providers communicate using the tools they do, or why are notes are written in a certain way. "Reimagining the work is not easy, but it is achievable, particularly if there are people who have a deep understanding of both clin- ical work and technology, who can build and run teams effectively, and whose thinking nat- urally gravitates toward system improvement," Dr. Wachter writes. n Providence Notifies 5,400 Patients of Insider Breach By Akanksha Jayanthi A n internal audit in May revealed a former employee may have inappropriately accessed the medical records of 5,400 patients at Providence Health & Services in Ore- gon, reports KGW. The employee was based in Portland, and the audit indicated the employ- ee accessed health records between July 2012 and April 2016. Potentially compromised information includes demographic and medical treatment information. The report also indicates the employee may have viewed insur- ance information and Social Security numbers. However, Providence Health & Services does not believe the em- ployee used or disclosed any of the information. The health system fired the employee upon learning of the breach. n Cleveland Clinic Innovations, Israel Partner for Health Startup Accelerator By Max Green T he Israel Innovation Authority has granted Cleveland Clinic and Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of Israel's largest providers, an incubator franchise, according to Cleveland Jewish News. Between the two organizations and eHealth Ventures, a digital health accelerator, the partnership is looking to invest big in Israel-based startups. "The Israeli government is putting up about $25 million over eight years to support about 40 companies that we will admit into the incubators," Tom Sudow, Cleveland Clinic Innovations' director of business development, told Cleveland Jewish News. Cleveland Clinic will connect startups participating in the accelerator with other organizations around the world to which the health system has ties. Mark Stovsky, MD, science and technology innovations officer at Cleveland Clinic, said he sees Israel as a center of real innovation in biomedicine, bio- tech and digital health. "We saw an opportunity for the Cleveland Clinic to lend our expertise and to commercialize health-related technologies to help Israeli startup companies get to the market," Dr. Stovsky told Cleveland Jewish News. "Cleveland Clin- ic Innovations has vast experience in developing medical technologies and creating successful new companies around those technologies." In addition to the $25 million put up by the Israeli government, another $12 million to $15 million is being contributed by other venture capital firms in the U.S. and around the world, according to Mr. Sudow. n