The drive for healthcare reform in the United States illustrates on a macro level the need for a change in how healthcare information is managed in order to facilitate proposed suggestions for reform.

President Obama believes that healthcare needs to be reformed to reduce long-term growth of healthcare costs for businesses and government. It needs to protect families from bankruptcy or debt and guarantee choice of doctors and health plans. The President also believes that the reformed plan needs to invest in prevention and wellness, improve patient safety and quality of care and assure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans.

Noted Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter believes reform must include requiring insurers to reveal how healthy their subscribers are, paying doctors based on the overall health of a patient instead of for each procedure, and getting several doctors – from primary care to specialists – to work together in an integrated practice, turning a patient’s care into a team approach. No altruism is required: moving to value-based competition will benefit every participant in the system. Those who act early will benefit most.

There is a competitive advantage, profitability and market share to be gained by the hospital or consortium of providers who can offer a one-stop point of contact for all medical information and claims/billing information connected to a medical incident. Patients who can count on this service are more likely to choose your facility/practice for the services they require.

Managing medical information and paying medical bills should not be more painful than the medical condition itself.