Colleague Steve Roy recently paid a visit to MIT’s health technology symposium and shares some insights about the intersection of health and technology.

As a veteran of health technology forums, last week’s MIT’s health technology symposium was remarkable – both for the passion of the stakeholders who believe health technology’s day has finally arrived and the absence of the change agents needed to make it a reality.

Most of the dialogue focused on EMRs (electronic medical records) and the current debate about the “meaningful use” stipulation that comes with the EMR funding contained in the Recovery Act, otherwise known as the stimulus bill. Despite all the glowing hopes for EMRs supported by the $19 billion in stimulus money, the devil is in the details. To receive reimbursement, providers will need to demonstrate “meaningful use” – a dangerously vague term. It’s akin to the IRS making us all prove “appropriate consumption” to get our tax refunds.

Below the surface though, this was a conference about reform. As the administration envisioned it, health IT support amounts to a down payment on reform, with the idea being that it will be impossible to sustain 21st century health care using 20th century technology. The conference was highlighted by:

• David Cutler, the Harvard health economist who told us we employ more admin workers than nurses and more financial managers than doctors in the US. See slide 11 in his presentation.
• David Blumenthal, the government’s man in charge who inspires confidence despite being fully in touch with the daunting challenge he has assumed.
• Gartner analyst Wes Rishel who feels this space is ripe for a game changing technology.
• Researchers from the Harvard Public School of Health who pegged the current rate of EMR usage in hospitals at 7.6%. (That’s not a typo.)
• AMA Board Member Joe Heyman who provided a preview of a one-stop shopping technology portal the AMA is building for physicians.

Finally, what was most interesting was what was not said and who was not there. There was virtually no discussion about the importance public support could play here. It’s hard to champion change on this scale with a disengaged public. And the technology change agents that have revolutionized other sectors (the big name established players and innovative start-ups) continue to remain on the fringes of the core debates that are shaping this new field.

For some enterprising company out there, there remains a major opportunity to galvanize public interest in health technology that will in turn have customers beating a path to their door.

Steve Roy is a senior vice president in New York who specializes in health technology.