In the study, BAH provided in-depth information about the issue via a group of knowledgeable, senior BAH personnel involved in the field; while Open Options provided the methodology to structure the organizational knowledge, using its proprietary game theory tools to develop a clear action plan. BAH will use the results of the study to explore insights on the chances of success for new approaches to health IT being adopted in the US.

Understanding the issue

Healthcare reform is a top priority for the Obama administration. The adoption and meaningful use of Health IT is inextricably linked to achieving the quality and efficiency goals of reform. But, amid persistent concerns about misaligned incentives, workflow impacts and data security, the health sector remains ambivalent and in some areas resistant to adopting health IT – and its champions have been unable to generate a groundswell of demand. Most providers in the health care system today continue to collect and transmit information on paper, over the phone, and via fax machines. Development of a national health IT network or “health internet” is proving to be extremely difficult and slow going with only pockets of success.

The purpose of this project was to identify the key players involved, their actions, and motivations to optimally support a transition from today’s data-poor environment for health to a future data-rich environment, given that Health IT implementation concerns, by various stakeholders, have to be overcome in order to realize fundamental change in healthcare. The timeframe examined was from Q4 2009 until the end of the Administration’s current term.

Insights and path forward

The study identified a number of strong conclusions and insights. For example it is clear that the U.S. government may achieve its desired health IT environment, but reluctance/resistance by key players will hold back health IT without carefully directed motivators. In particular, it will be necessary for the federal government to mobilize others to create an environment where physicians and hospitals see the merit of adopting health IT. Specific actions were identified in the report.

Undertaken in late 2009, the analysis also uncovered a potential risk scenario which now shows signs of materializing. This scenario involved a situation where Congress became unable or unwilling to pass legislation which would be effective in motivating health IT adoption through payment reform which creates an incentive for practice transformation. Consequently, this outcome would seriously strain the Administration’s resources and put its health IT goals at risk.

The value of R&D developments, capital investments, new market entries and other projects is often hard to quantify and even harder to compare. Resources are finite and not all projects can be funded to move forward.

Adding to the complexity of this decision process are external players that can drastically impact the outcome: a competitor’s patents may render R&D development obsolete, capacity reductions by largest customer may drastically extend capital payback period and regulators can stifle market entry attempts.

A Competitive Corporate Portfolio

The Open Options CCPM process completes and optimizes client analysis by using the power of Game Theory to predict and exploit market dynamics and their impact on corporate portfolio decisions.

Open Options’ powerful game theory software analyzes that structured knowledge and provides insights such as:

• Which projects to pursue and which ones to terminate
• Potential danger outcomes and how to avoid costly project failures
• The distribution of power and its effect on strategy
• Key trade-offs available within portfolio selection

CCPM allows clients to:

• Incorporate quantitative data and client knowledge regarding the project/business portfolio
• Draw on the best knowledge from all levels of the organization
• Optimize the portfolio quickly with a compelling rationale and a clear action plan
• Move forward on project execution with an aligned management team