Dr. David Brailer: The AuntMinnie AudioCast

Aug 10, 2006

Perhaps no individual has had a greater impact on shaping the direction of healthcare information technology in the U.S. in the past two years than Dr. David Brailer. As head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT), Brailer served as the federal government's point man for moving U.S. healthcare into the digital age.

Industry observers credit Brailer with raising the profile of healthcare IT markedly within the U.S. They also laud his development of a coherent national strategy for healthcare IT, no small feat in a country with a cacophony of public and private healthcare providers.

Brailer announced his resignation from ONCHIT on May 19, and while he's no longer in a public policy position, he continues to work for the promotion of healthcare IT. In this AuntMinnie AudioCast interview, conducted on July 26, 2006, Brailer discusses the state of healthcare IT in the U.S., how U.S. efforts compare to those of other countries, and what the U.S. can learn from international projects.

Brailer also explains his belief that the most important part of healthcare IT is not the technology but rather its potential to transform the way healthcare is delivered. It's one thing to download a software application; it's entirely another to completely change the workflow within a healthcare enterprise. Unless the latter happens, the U.S. will never achieve the efficiencies that healthcare IT can deliver.

To download or listen to the entire 42-minute (9.6 MB) interview in MP3 format, click here. To download the file, right click on the link and then select "Save Target As."

To listen to individual segments of the interview, click on any of the links below. To download any of the files, right click on a link and then select "Save Target As."