Where is the HIT magic bullet?

Where is the magic bullet in healthcare IT? Last fall during a KLAS event that very question was raised in a panel discussion involving a select group of C-level hospital executives from around the country. These provider executives immediately and unanimously answered, "It's not here yet."

The Ideal Healthcare IT Platform

So what is the magic bullet to which they were referring? Basically, they described a clinical HIT platform that empowered the smooth flow of information to where it is needed, when it is needed. This ideal system would be able to communicate with other systems by true integration, not a costly and shallow interface. In sum, this product concept would be their dream solution, the one that everybody wants but is acknowledged as nothing more than a concept today. Something that is beyond meaningful use, beyond current technologies.

The follow-up question was even more intriguing: "Where will the magic bullet come from?" It should be noted that these executives represented organizations which have invested mega millions in several of the major core clinical solutions currently available. Yet not a single panelist said they believed their clinical vendor would be the one to achieve the truly integrated clinical system, the magic bullet. Those vendors were not mentioned even once.

Keeping an Eye on Vendors Outside of Healthcare

Other big names were thrown out as possibilities - Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others. Every single executive was convinced that this concept will be delivered by a vendor that is not a major player in the industry, from left field so to speak, and not by any vendors that are well-known HIT vendors today.

Do you agree? I would love to hear your thoughts. Where will this magic bullet come from?