Even in the land of swaying palm trees, lush golf courses and expensive homes, healthcare executives can't escape the sting of a downward-spiraling economy.
Roughly 2,000 of those executives are expected to be in Palm Springs, Calif., during the next three days for the Medical Records Institute's 25th annual Towards the Electronic Patient Record (TEPR+) conference and exhibition. Those who arrived early for Sunday's pre-conference events - as well as a Super Bowl party held in the bar of the Wyndham Hotel, adjoining the Palm Springs Conference Center - indicated the nation's ongoing economic woes would affect everything they do for the year, if not longer.
"It's not going to get any better any time soon, no matter what (the Obama Administration) does," said one executive of an East Coast-based healthcare organization, who declined to be identified but noted that his organization will likely be announcing layoffs and capital expenditure cutbacks in the coming months. "We're all hoping for a miracle, but right now we'd be happy just to break even."
TEPR+, organized by the Medical Records Institute, seeks to advance the uses of healthcare IT. C. Peter Waegemann, CEO of the Boston-based MRI, says it's more important than ever to push for new technology and applications because they help healthcare providers improve quality of care and reduce wasteful spending - two very important goals that will help troubled providers stay afloat in troubled times.
Prior to this year's conference, Waegemann said he hoped the economy wouldn't keep people from attending the conference, but he expected that attendance would be down from previous years. He said he hoped the fact that TEPR is the first big show this year - the Health Information and Management Systems Society's (HIMSS) 2009 show and conference has been pushed back to the beginning of April in Chicago - would give his show some added exposure.
This year's conference focuses on four areas: The patient-centered medical home; the use of cell phones, smart phones and other PDAs to connect patients, providers, payers and others; the growing interest in consumer-driven healthcare (which MRI calls "participatory healthcare"); and technology that links hospitals with physician practices.
TEPR+ officially opened Monday morning with a series of keynote speeches, including "Health IT, the Agony and the Ecstasy," an overview of the American Medical Association's response to the healthcare crisis, delivered by Joseph Heyman, chairman of the AMA's Board of Trustees. Other speakers were expected to include Waegemann; former Google executive Adam Bosworth; Alan Greene, MD, A.D.A.M., Inc.'s chief of future health; and Danny Sands, MD, Cisco's senior medical informatics director.
In addition, Claudia Tessier, MRI's vice president, was scheduled to announce the winners of TEPR's three awards: Personal Health Records, EMRs Best Meeting Medicological Requirements and Hot Products. Among the vendors vying for recognition is Doctations, a New York-based developer of online PHR services that is up for both the PHR and Hot Products awards.
