Sagacious Consultants Blog National HIT Week 2016 - How Healthcare IT Touches Lives

We join organizations across the country in celebrating National Health IT Week. While we're in the business of healthcare, we each have personal experiences that have drawn us to do this important work and keep us motivated to do our part in improving patient care through information technology. Our team reflects on how healthcare IT has impacted their lives: "Technology has enabled me to build a stronger relationship with my doctor during my pregnancy. It's been really helpful to send a quick message to the doctor whenever I have questions and concerns. I'm also able to ask for advice and get her input whenever small things come up that I might forget to bring up at my next visit. Health IT has increased my satisfaction with the overall patient experience." - April Truelove, Director of Analytics "Before I ever worked in the healthcare industry, my father passed away from an aneurism. He was at the hospital for many hours before they admitted him. I've always felt that if the hospital had had a more streamlined system, my dad would still be here today; that's a life they could've saved. Working for Sagacious, I believe if I can provide a client with a consultant who can optimize a workflow, that very easily could save someone's life. That's the purpose I find in my work." - Tom Graff, Associate Manager of Business Development "In May I caught a terrible upper-respiratory infection while traveling in the UK with my wife. I struggled through the last couple days of the trip in misery, and in the haze of cough medication I misread our itinerary for our return flight, missing it by several hours. When we finally arrived home, there was no possible way I had the energy to make it to an urgent care - the closest to my home being about 30-40 minutes away. My wonderful wife reminded me about Accenture's telehealth program. Within 30 minutes of first booting the computer up, I was on the phone with an MD who listened to the explanation of symptoms, and quickly diagnosed me. I was able to start my course of antibiotics that same evening. As consultants, we're rarely at a home base, and the ability to pay $40 and get a prescription sent to any pharmacy in the US is absolutely invaluable. I am still amazed that somehow, between the hours of 5pm and 6pm while exhausted, jetlagged, and sick as a dog, I was able to speak with an MD, get a prescription, and have it filled - even out in the exceptionally rural area that I live in." - James Pike, Senior Consultant "I started Healthcare IT week by taking my kids to the pediatrician. Technology has helped me coordinate my visit and the all the follow-up appointments through my phone, sync them to my calendar and my husband's. It's helping my family do all the things we need to stay healthy. I also see the coordination of care improving - physicians and assistants are more comfortable with technology, so they are spending less time on the computer and more time interacting with my kids. We're returning to the basics of patient care." - Elaina Bott, Associate Director of Strategic Revenue "I have a life-threatening allergy to a medication commonly used in hospitals. Thanks to my smart phone's "emergency" feature, as well as living in a well-connected healthcare metropolis, I feel comfortable knowing that healthcare providers can access critical information in the case of an emergency. Having patient information more readily accessible not only makes continuity of care easier, but also feels like an additional safeguard." - Danika Killian, Director of Connect "With traveling for work, I don't have time during the week to see my PCP to have my prescriptions refilled. She's been my PCP for 8 years, so she knows me well. I was able to have a 5-minute phone conversation with her in order to justify her placing refills for me at the pharmacy. I feel it was even more efficient for to her jump on the phone than it would've been to have an in-person office visit with me. I desire the opportunity to be independent in driving my healthcare needs, so when new technology allows me to be an active participant, I capitalize on that. - Ashley, Hubbell, Senior Consultant "A friend was just treated for an allergic reaction to a spider bite. He was shocked when the emergency room bill came to $1,200, mind you he has a high-deductible plan, but then incredulous when he received another bill for $1,500 a week later. He didn't realize one was the hospital fee and the other was the professional fee. This was an instance where an Enterprise Guarantor Statement (EGS) would have benefited my friend. Technology has enabled us to aggregate all charge data into one platform and send single statements to patients. Improving patient care is about improving the overall patient experience, and if this health system had created a Single Billing Office (SBO) and configured EGS my friend would have been a shocked, but not quite so incredulous customer." - Shane Adams, Founder & CEO