For HHS, the Eye is on the Prize

For the Health and Human Services Department, Health IT is all about knowing the end result.

"It's not about the technology, it's about knowing what you want to get out of it," said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, deputy national coordinator for programs and policy at the office of the national coordinator for health IT at HHS.

As part of health care reform, more emphasis will be placed on available and developing technologies, Mostashari said during a panel discussion on Aug. 16 and hosted by Government Executive. Rather than focus on intangibles, "we will be able to look at actual outcomes," he said, such as did a patient's blood pressure improve.

Mostashari gave an example from his time as assistant commissioner for the primary care information project at the New York City Health Department. In New York, they developed a system that told the provider the quality of health care provided by analyzing results, which, he said, was keeping "the eye on the prize."