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Walk into any health clinic or doctor’s office and you’ll immediately see part of the problem with the U.S. health care system: paper-based recordkeeping. Despite 30 years of personal computers and networking, health care providers remain reliant upon rows of filing cabinets and paper forms for recording patient information and history. It is, in a word, archaic.

When it comes to health care IT, the channel is focused almost exclusively on electronic medical records. But there are so many more opportunities in health care technologies.

According to a recent, HIMSS Leadership Survey, more than half of health care IT leaders are planning to achieve “meaningful use” implementation of IT products over the next two years. More than two-thirds are planning to make investments to qualify for government subsidies.

The Obama administration is pumping billions of dollars into the health care system to modernize recordkeeping and digitize health care delivery. This is creating a major opportunity for IT vendors and solution providers, and many are focusing efforts on the implementation of electronic healthcare recordkeeping (EHR) systems. But this might be a mistake as there are many more product and services opportunities beyond recordkeeping.

EHR is a significant opportunity since it provides an immediate benefit for health care providers in automating and expediting processes, improving the quality of care, and reducing costs through the eliminating of expensive paper-based systems. The government believes EHR will help reduce overall health care costs, which account for nearly 16 percent of economic activity and the second biggest expenditure in the federal budget. Through digitized records, the Obama administration wants to enable better, less expensive collaboration between health care providers, reducing the number of procedures required in patient care.

All this is true, but EHR isn’t exactly virgin territory. The HIMSS survey found 53 percent of health care providers have fully operational EHR systems in their facilities, and the pace of deployment is rapidly increasing.

What’s challenging health care providers is a lack of resources, IT expertise and budget for implementing next generation IT systems. If the government wasn’t promising subsidies and grants for IT modernization, the health care opportunity would likely be significantly smaller. With EHR pushing beyond the 50 percent adoption mark, saturation isn’t far behind. Soon EHR will become a competitive and commoditized offering.

The real channel opportunity in health care may come in the devices and systems attached to EHR, such as embedded systems, mobility, wireless networking, security, storage, collaboration software and, believe it or not, hospitality systems.

EHR is more than just recordkeeping, but a potential repository for all data generated by caregivers and myriad devices used in clinical settings. Monitors, medication dispensers, alarms, clinic orders, consultation request and food services need to be trafficked through not just recordkeeping, but also a network. What’s really needed in health care is a lattice network of devices, software and data repositories that collect, catalog and report on a variety of structured and unstructured data.

Many vendors are already looking beyond EHR their opportunities in health care. Check out these examples:

n  Cisco Systems and GE Healthcare recently announced a partnership to build Cisco wireless networks integrated with GE’s AgileTrac platform to manage and track the flow of patients in clinical settings with RFID technology.

n  Dell will soon offer health care providers cloud-based storage of patient care and hospital records. The system, based on technology acquired through InSite One, is designed specifically for digital medical images, such as X-rays and MRIs.

n  Hewlett-Packard is expanding the availability of its HP V-Health – also known as Virtual Health Management, a portfolio of products that enables health care providers to remotely monitor and care for patients.

n  IBM recently unveiled its Patient Empowerment System, a Web portal that allows physicians and patients to interact, retrieve records and request care over the Internet.

n  Microsoft is turning to the ISV community to develop new applications that support health care functions. It wants more apps designed for its cloud, client and mobile operating systems.

n  Motorola, Intermec, Apple and other mobile device manufacturers are continuing to refine and customize their products for clinical settings, ensuring they meet security, operational and sanitary requirements.

n  Every security and software vendor is deploying new products and technology designed to safeguard patient data and ensure compliance with regulations such as HIPAA and HITECH.

Many experts are pushing solution providers to understand EHR as the big opportunity in health care. EHR may turn out to just be the beginning of the health care IT evolution. Focusing solely on EHR may ultimately limit solution provider opportunities. For longevity and differentiation purposes, solution providers should explore other technologies to ensure they have more than just one trick for solving the health care equation.

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Lawrence M. Walsh is CEO and president of The 2112 Group, a technology business advisory service that specializes in optimizing indirect channels and partner relationships. He’s also the executive director of the Channel Vanguard Council. He is the former publisher of Channel Insider and editor of VARBusiness Magazine. You can reach him at lmwalsh@the2112group.com.

On Twitter:
Larry Walsh:@lmwalsh2112| Channelnomics: @channelnomics

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