With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act comes the opportunity to implement healthcare solutions from IBM that can help healthcare agencies and organizations enhance the quality of care they currently provide.

1. Smarter health care
Stimulating healthcare with IBM
Healthcare solutions for the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act
Healthcare in the U.S.: A diagnosis
Health systems in this country are being
stretched to their limits as they strive to
address health issues such as increas-
ing costs and complexity, inconsistent
quality and access to timely care. The
majority of healthcare consumers feel
increasingly uninformed, disconnected
and helpless. Here are some startling
facts about the state of healthcare in
the U.S.:
● Each year, 98,000 to 195,000 people
are killed by medical mistakes and
1.5 million are harmed because of
errors in the way medications are
The American Recovery and prescribed.
Highlights Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is an ● Every year, 8,000 U.S. lives are lost
unprecedented effort to jumpstart the because of insurance coverage gaps.
■ IBM solutions for healthcare help
U.S. economy, making funding available ● 24 percent of Americans report that
government agencies and organi-
to address specific healthcare chal- they do not get medical care because
zations implement, use and sup-
lenges. With this economic stimulus of cost and more than 15 million peo-
port electronic health records
funding comes the opportunity for gov- ple are underinsured, many of whom
ernment healthcare agencies and are working.
■ IBM solutions for healthcare sup-
organizations to implement healthcare ● This year, $2.5 trillion will be spent on
port the secure exchange of
solutions from IBM that can help them healthcare—that’s 17.6% of the
healthcare information
enhance the quality of care they cur- U.S. GDP. By 2015, that number will
rently provide. rise to $4 trillion and almost 20% of
■ IBM offers healthcare solutions,
the GDP.
services and financing developed
to meet the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009

2. Consumers are demanding more from These issues are set against a back- challenges. From planning and imple-
their providers. Individuals are taking on drop of shortages of clinicians, general mentation to optimization and transfor-
more financial burdens and greater practitioners and medical specialists. mation, these offerings can help all
responsibility for their own health and The need for progress is clear. Funding healthcare stakeholders prepare and
care. The Internet-driven, instantly con- from the ARRA and solutions from contribute to a more effective health
nected world of today presents chal- IBM and IBM Business Partners can system. These solutions include clinical
lenges to healthcare organizations as help bring the U.S. back from the brink and patient portals, clinical analytics
they face: of this crisis. and performance management, clinical
services that optimize and advance
● Rising consumer expectations for Improving the prognosis: IBM steps electronic health record implementa-
greater value from the healthcare forward tions, and health information
system The ARRA makes it possible for hospi- exchanges. All of these offerings can be
● Increased visibility into quality and tals and physician practices to take that tailored to ARRA requirements and
patient-safety issues all-important critical first step toward include electronic health records, secu-
● Increased transparency of informa- electronic medical records—one that rity, services, financing and more.
tion, which enables consumers to can address the challenges mentioned
make decisions based on the cost previously and yield positive results for Electronic health records
and quality of healthcare services healthcare organizations and their Today’s health records are scattered
patients in the U.S. over myriads of patient-based reposito-
Savvy and demanding consumers are ries. If a patient has a primary care
only part of the challenges providers With funds from the ARRA and help physician and gets treated by an ortho-
face. Many lack funding and capital to from IBM, government agencies and pedic practice, separate paper records
provide the kind of care needed by organizations can implement healthcare are maintained for that patient at each
many patients. Medical records cannot solutions that help them deal with their location. If a patient is admitted to a
be easily shared between providers and current healthcare issues. IBM provides hospital trauma center for treatment, is
that can lead to some of the mistakes a comprehensive offering portfolio to discharged, but then needs to return to
previously mentioned. Incompatible for- help support healthcare reform, that hospital for surgery, the patient
mats, such as paper medical files and advance strategic initiatives and, ulti- might have two separate records at the
electronic x-rays, are part of the reason; mately, to empower a healthier society. hospital—or even more. There might be
another contributor to the challenge is information in a patient’s primary care
the lack of infrastructure that can pro- IBM and IBM Business Partners physician’s file record that a surgeon
mote information sharing. together deliver end-to-end clinical, needs but cannot access because the
business and infrastructure solutions record is only available to the primary
that help address many of the health- care physician.
care industry’s most complex

3. Electronic health records provide and current best practices in medicine clients apply advanced analytics to
healthcare providers with patient med- enable proliferation of ongoing improve- improve medical research, diagnosis
ical history in concise electronic format ments in healthcare efficacy. and treatment with the ultimate objec-
that can be shared among multiple tive being to improve patient care and
healthcare entities easily. For example, Everyone is on the electronic health help reduce healthcare costs.
the exchange of healthcare information records bandwagon—from Microsoft®
has the potential to boost patient safety to typical infrastructure providers to Security
by making it easier for different physi- independent software vendors. This For healthcare organizations, IBM and
cians and hospitals to access the list of is a hotly competitive area with over IBM Business Partners provide solu-
medications a patient takes regularly or 200 independent software vendors in tions and the supporting infrastructure
a list of allergies a patient might have. the marketplace who are rapidly con- to safeguard patient privacy and ensure
solidating. IBM’s approach is different, that only the appropriate parties have
Electronic health records can also help however. secure and immediate access to critical
reduce overall healthcare costs. For data. Our offerings help secure elec-
example, one of the major sources of IBM is playing a critical role during this tronic health records and protect sensi-
rapid growth in healthcare costs comes time in history because we touch more tive data from unauthorized access and
from medical imaging. Medicare Part B points in healthcare than anyone else— malicious threats so hospitals can focus
spending on imaging rose from from connecting electronic medical on what is important—patient care:
$6.80 billion in 2000 to $14.11 billion records to doctors, hospitals and phar-
in 2006. Access to a patient’s images in macies to improve care and reduce ● Advanced security intelligence from
an electronic health record is an effec- cost to accelerating medical research the IBM Internet Security Systems
tive way to avoid duplicating expensive with analytics. Rather than concentrat- X-Force® research and development
imaging procedures. Another high ing solely on an electronic healthcare team healthcare organizations and
cost to healthcare is the printing and record-specific solution, we are offering agencies anticipate and block
mailing of checks. America could save a more connected healthcare system Internet threats before they affect the
$11 billion annually if all medical pay- that delivers better care with fewer mis- network.
ment transactions in the U.S. were han- takes, predicts and prevents diseases ● Managed protection for healthcare
dled electronically by direct deposit. and empowers people to make better agency and organization network,
choices. servers and desktop protects sensi-
An electronic health records system can tive medical data and assets and
also help reduce medical errors and IBM is also working with our Business healthcare organization reputation.
boost worker productivity by providing Partners to provide solutions that inte-
healthcare workers with decision sup- grate data so doctors, patients and
port. Fast access to medical literature insurers can share information seam-
lessly and efficiently. IBM also helps

4. ● IBM Virtual Patch® shields vulnerabili- ● IBM healthcare analytics services initiatives so healthcare agencies and
ties at the network level. help agencies and organizations organizations can start their projects
● IBM Virtual Security Operations transform data into intelligence so now without having to wait for the dis-
Center is a secure, Web-based tool they can improve the quality of care tribution of funding.
that healthcare organizations can use they provide and make increasingly
to monitor the security of their sys- informed clinical decisions. IBM Global Financing programs can
tems continuously and easily. ● IBM medical imaging and storage vir- help healthcare organizations and agen-
tualization services, such as Grid cies streamline the entire IT infrastruc-
Additionally, IBM provides guaranteed Medical Archiving Solution, facilitate ture life cycle—including planning,
offerings and performance-based serv- cost-effective digital image storage, procurement, budgeting, payment and
ice level agreements—resulting in up to access and workflow and enable asset disposition. Organizations and
$50,000 cash payment if service level remote diagnosis and consultation in agencies maximize their spending
agreements are not met. the hospital and beyond. power with flexible ways to fund their
● IBM mobility services, such as wire- acquisitions.
Services less infrastructure, hands-free com-
IBM Global Business Services and munication, RFID technology, Conclusion: Why IBM?
Global Technology Services consultants integration middleware and the IBM’s broad and deep experience in the
have deep and broad expertise with the enabling technologies, help provide healthcare industry and relationships
implementation of comprehensive immediate, secure access to patient with all major healthcare IT vendors
healthcare systems and solutions. For information at the point of patient help ensure that we deliver integrated
example: care. solutions that incorporate best prac-
● IBM portal solutions and services tices to address healthcare business
● IBM hospital planning and help make information available inter- problems. We have applied our health-
design/build services combine infor- nally and externally to providers, pay- care knowledge, technology and
mation systems expertise with clinical ers and potential patients. research to deliver innovative solutions
and business expertise to develop the that help clients solve problems of any
combination of people, processes Financing scale or complexity.
and care best suited to the health- Since the ARRA was signed into law,
care organization. IBM has been helping healthcare Providers need a proven leader with
● IBM healthcare business consultants organizations establish the infrastruc- experience in helping organizations
are highly skilled in optimizing clinical tures that can allow them to spur undergoing change—one with the
processes and implementations. In growth in their communities and financial stability to see them through
2006 and 2007, IBM’s healthcare improve service levels. In this spirit, over the long haul. As a healthcare
business consulting services were IBM Global Financing has earmarked industry leader, IBM is committed to
ranked no. 1 in clinical implementa- special financing programs for IT helping healthcare provider organiza-
tions by KLAS, the independent tions thrive in the new world ahead.
healthcare ranking organization. In
2007, they were ranked no. 3 in clini-
cal planning and assessment.

5. Feature Benefits
Medical data integration ● Facilitates electronic health records so provider organizations, physician practices, clinics,
laboratories, patients and insurers can share information seamlessly and efficiently
IBM Maximo® Asset Management ● Enables you to track and manage your critical, expensive medical equipment
Advanced security intelligence from ● Helps anticipate and block Internet threats before they affect the healthcare network
IBM Internet Security Systems X-Force®
Managed protection for healthcare ● Helps protect sensitive medical data and assets
agency and organization network,
servers and desktop
IBM Virtual Patch® ● Shields vulnerabilities at the network level
IBM Virtual Security Operations Center ● Continuously monitors the security of healthcare systems and data
IBM hospital planning and design/build ● Combines information systems expertise with clinical and business expertise to develop
services the combination of people, processes and care best suited to the healthcare organization
IBM Healthlink Solutions ● Streamlines implementations, optimizing an agency’s current processes and investments
and enabling new solutions such as electronic health record systems
IBM healthcare analytics services ● Helps transform data into intelligence
IBM security and privacy/disaster ● Helps protect patient data from internal and external threats, helps ensure 24/7 availability,
recovery services helps provide business continuity and meet regulatory demands
IBM medical imaging and storage ● Facilitates cost-effective digital image storage, access and workflow and enables remote
virtualization services, such as Grid diagnosis and consultation in the hospital and beyond
Medical Archiving Solution
IBM mobility services ● Exploits wireless technology, including RFID, to provide immediate, secure access to
patient information at the point of patient care
IBM portal solutions and services ● Helps make information available internally and externally to providers, payers and
potential patients
IBM Global Financing solutions for ● Low rates and flexible payment options, deferred payment plans, structured lines of credit
ARRA and specialized project financing packages that align payment streams throughout the
course of the project to anticipated benefits

6. For more information © Copyright IBM Corporation 2009
IBM Corporation
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healthcare, please contact your
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