BizOpinion: Wisconsin is well-positioned for explosion in health information technology

This is an excerpt from a column posted at BizOpinion.

Like it or not, health-care reform is here to stay. Even if the Affordable Healthcare Act was magically repealed tomorrow, the U.S. health-care system would continue to search for ways to control costs, eliminate waste and improve quality.

A major tool being applied to health care’s challenges is wider adoption of health information technologies, which collectively help patients, providers, insurers and medical practitioners as they come to grips with change.

That’s an opportunity for many businesses in Wisconsin, from the largest health-care providers to the smallest startups. …

While the Affordable Healthcare Act has accelerated the pace of change, the movement toward smarter use of health information technologies began decades ago within organizations such as Epic, GE Healthcare and Marshfield – which means Wisconsin enjoys a strong head start.

The state also has the rest of the ingredients needed to make it a health-care innovation hub, from major research universities such as UW-Madison, the Medical College of Wisconsin and UW-Milwaukee, to highly rated clinical systems to an emerging crop of entrepreneurs who understand the needs of patients and practitioners as well as the technology.

Read the full column