Informatics: HIMSS10 IBM

At HIMSS10, Dr. Fishman had the opportunity to speak with Dan Pelino, General Manager of Healthcare and Life Sciences at IBM. Mr. Pelino explains that IBM is involved in several aspects of Health Information Technology. First, the company has partnered with many EHR vendors to help small practices identify which EHR solution is best for their specific needs, and it can also offer various hosting solutions. Second, IBM has the ability to help practices integrate their EHR system with referral networks. Third, IBM has embarked on a collaborative effort with the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Physicians to implement pilot projects based on the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) approach. Mr. Pelino provides an a example of this pilot with the Community Care of North Carolina, which applied the PCMH approach to successfully prevent hospitalizations among asthmatics and saved 150 million dollars in the process. Dr. Fishman and Mr. Pelino close by discussing IBMs involvement in international healthcare systems, specifically the development of an Electronic Health Record system in Denmark.