Friday, September 29, 2006

A Warning from the Intel CEO

On September 26 at 8:30 am, Intel CEO Craig Barrett spoke at the eHealth Initiative Health Information Technology Summit. He preceded Secretary of HHS Michael Leavitt.

He prefaced his remarks by emphasizing both his support for the political process but also his frustration with the pace of change and leadership "around the margins." He mentioned in a positive sense his participation in the American Health Information Community.

But Barrett's words were strong and, in the view of this observer, dead on.

Among his comments:

  • U.S. jobs will continue to move offshore at a rapid pace unless corporate America exerts its power to force the health care industry to adopt systems that will cut costs and improve efficiency. "Every job that can be moved out of the United States will be moved out ... Because of health care costs," which on the average were in excess of $6,300 per person in 2004.
  • "The system is out of control, it's unstable, it's basically bankrupt, it gets worse each year and all we do is tinker around the edges when what we need are major fixes"
  • Asking "who should pay for it" is the wrong question. No one can pay for it.
    Even if one makes a massive, one-time change in the chronic care disease management, unless the trend is toward continual improvement, the costs will inexorably climb.
  • "Every other industry has adopted this technology and (the health care) industry continues to sit here and debate"
  • Why does the health care industry expect subsidies to pay for health care technology? Every other industry makes these investments as a matter of survivability?
  • Employers should demand that hospitals select standardized record systems to lower costs or take their company's business elsewhere
  • Companies should only do business with health care providers who meet certain standards, including fully electronic patient records and published "best practices" for patient treatment
  • Price transparency is critical to employer and consumer engagement. How many other industries can't tell you what a service will cost or explain their charges in a simple way?
  • Hospital networks could and should be transformed into "competitive centers for excellence" that are paid to keep employees healthy.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Executive VP Linda Dillman joined Barrett on the stage and spoke of Wal-Mart's costs as an employer and their innovative approach to providing health care in pilot settings.

  • Barrett said the health care industry could learn from the efficiency of Wal-Mart.
  • He claimed Wal-Mart was an information technology company that sells what it tracks and excels by its ability to employ IT in conjunction with effective business models and great customer service