Bill Andrews

I’ve been in the Medical Electronics field for over 50 years with most of those years in senior management or ownership positions. Specifically Radiology has been my main source of income but includes both computerization of Radiographic Images, their distribution and integration into the larger Health Enterprise Systems.

I first heard about We Can Do Better, which was then the Archimedes Movement at a HIMSS conference about 5 years ago. Governor Kitzhaber spoke and said the healthcare system was broken and was unsustainable in the way it was set up. He was talking to insiders in the industry and in a room with about 4,000 attendees he got more standing ovations than any of the other keynote speakers. I joined the next week.

There is Tsunami of change both technically and politically in the healthcare field. It will affect all levels of healthcare from the patient, to practitioner, and payer. Let’s not forget the government oversight responsibilities as well. I feel the timing is right and my time with We Can Do Better is well spent in trying to get the right sustainable direction accomplished and keep the “Patient Centric” in the process.

In a transformed health system the patient will walk into their newly selected practitioner, hand them an ID card (or chip, or be RF scanned). Reception will have all the necessary information medically and financially on the patient; there will be no paper work to fill in. After the examination, the patient will be given the results of that examination with treatment plan and prescriptions in place with the estimated costs. It will end up as a tiered system with a public option as the base care plus extended care that only money can buy.

Health is everything in this vision and there is one other element and that is measurable: “Fitness” and a treatment plan to fight the chronic issues the patient has and bring them toward fitness.

Hardest thing I’ve done with/for We Can Do Better? Trying to get a good remote connection to the meetings and of course travelling the long distances to the meetings with the related expenses. But it’s worth it.

Most fun I’ve had? Meeting all the impassioned people who know the healthcare system is broken and want to fix it. As well, seeing over 80% of the hands go up at our last AM conference when the question was asked: “how many people in the audience have EHRs?” that’s progress!

I confess I still talk about the Archimedes Movement rather than We Can Do Better. I’m on our local committee for Home and Health Hospice (which is going independent). I’m also on citizens advisory group to HITOC, HIMSS, VistA Open EHR, plus we’re looking at a new health district down here (Harbor, Oregon).