General session recap: Joe Flower talks future of healthcare and patient data

This morning, healthcare futurist Joe Flower took the stage to kick off this year’s ACDIS conference in San Antonio  by sharing a  robust vision of healthcare’s future—from technological innovation that leads to integrations of care from providers to payers to patients.

Flower laid out a new periodic table for healthcare during his session, divided into four quadrants:

• Drivers (patient, physician, etc.)
• System
• Payment
• Technology

Each of these groups influence and interact to shape the future of healthcare, according to Flower. “It’s not one thing, it’s a system of things,” he said. “Payment reform changes the system, which is built on the drivers, which are powered by the tech.”

In Flower’s vision, the change begins with payment reform. The spending for healthcare in the U.S. is now projected to be $3.7 trillion, which, according to Flower, is five times the entire military budget. “If it were counted as an economy, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world,” he said.

What’s more, one third of the spending is wasteful. “We could pay for the healthcare for the rest of the world with the amount that we waste. I find that appalling,” Flower said.

While programs such as the value-based payment system aim to cut spending and reward efficiency and quality of care, Flower also pointed out an important element of reform: Patient access to data.

As the world of healthcare technology becomes more and more advanced, the ability to share and access data becomes more prevalent. Through initiates such as the MyHealthEData Initiative through CMS, facilities and providers will soon be required to allow their patients to access their data.

According to Flower, this could open up some major documentation and quality concerns, forcing physicians to rethink the way they document care. Flower recounted a profession who found a record for an 81-year-old woman documented as breast feeding, validating the need for CDI professionals’ work.

Ultimately, Flower says, healthcare professionals are in for a world of change—but not for nothing. The change will ultimately lead to better patient care, decreased, costs, and greater transparency.

As healthcare moves into a new phase, Flowers reminded attendees of the poet Jane Hirshfield’s words: “Everything changes. Everything is connected. Pay attention.”