New website spotlights data, care models

HIMSS Media launched a global online community this week dedicated to chronicling new and innovative models of healthcare that improve individual and community well-being, while also promising cost reduction.

The Future Care community website is supported by IBM and its Smarter Care initiative.

"I believe that the future of care will call us to convene differently and will cause us to collaborate differently," said Dan Pelino, general manager of IBM's public sector business, regarding the mission of Future Care.

As healthcare makes the transition to a quality- and outcomes-based care model, the industry must develop new models of interpreting and working with health data, Pelino said. Analytics, cognitive support, and coordination of care are areas ripe for advancement in the field, he added.

Future Care includes original news content along with relevant news from Healthcare IT News, Healthcare Finance News, Government Health IT, Healthcare Payer News and other HIMSS Media news outlets, in addition to blogs by industry subject matter experts and other information resources.

A key component of the site is the ability of members worldwide to share ideas, comments and outcomes examples.

“We have created this site to spark conversation around care collaboration and the usage of information to nurture improvement in quality, safety, outcomes and cost,” said Danielle Hartley, SVP and publisher of HIMSS Media.

Members of the Future Care community include healthcare providers, government, social services, educators, payers and consumers.

According to Pelino, the care model the healthcare industry is entering seeks to pull together many new and disparate elements, and there is no clear road map. Resources like Future Care will help to broaden the discussion, and will "let us challenge ourselves to convene differently, collaborate differently,” he said.

"I think it's important to engage in the conversation and to bring people in," he noted.