Healthcare IT's digital divide

So, apparently IT investment can have measurable clinical results, according to the latest from the Integrated Healthcare Association.

I'd imagine part of this effect isn't directly due to IT use. Instead, I'd think groups that invest heavily in IT also have the resources to closely supervise, fund and monitor internal healthcare quality. But I also accept the IT investments did play some role on their own.

However, it seems these benefits are unlikely to trickle down to small groups. With federal and state efforts to foster IT adoption lacking teeth--and more importantly, cash--smaller practices aren't likely to get the boost they need in the near future. Increasingly, I believe we're going to see a "digital divide" in medical practice which grows steadily greater as the larger groups profit from IT--and the smaller groups lose traction without it.

Without a doubt, trade groups can help close this divide. (Consider the efforts of the Massachusetts Medical Society, which has struck a deal giving its members EMR discounts.) But they can only do so much.

I believe it's going to take the clout of the federal government--CMS, perhaps?--to help smaller practices get on board. And officials had better get serious now. As the medical digital divide gets broader, it will create structural changes in the competitive landscape  (think "the poor get poorer") which may doom IT adoption for years to come.- Anne

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