Originally Published MX May/June 2005

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Many critics have charged that the costs of healthcare administration in the United States are out of control, but not everyone agrees on how to resolve the difficulty. And while some analysts charge that the adoption of new medical technologies is a major contributor to rising healthcare costs, others view advancing technologies as a key to reducing those costs.

"If you look at the marketplace today—whether you are looking at the provider side or the finance side—it is very clear there are inefficiencies," says Dogu Celebi, MD, vice president for medical affairs at Integrated Healthcare Information Services (Waltham, MA), a company that develops information systems to improve the clinical, operational, and financial performance of its healthcare clients. "There is no common platform for information.

"Currently, physicians have little information about what procedures are performed on their patients by other doctors," says Celebi. "But with the right systems in place, there is great potential for a return on the productivity side—particularly in clinical practice."