This is the third blog in a series of recaps on the recent Government Health IT Conference. Of the several sessions I attended, I particularly enjoyed the lively and thought-provoking session delivered by Dr. Harry Greenspun, chief medical officer of the Dell Services health care group. I felt like I was at a standup comedy show listening to his musings on health reform. He began the session by asking the rhetorical question, "Ultimately, what are we trying to accomplish?" He then went on to illustrate possible answers.

Greenspun provided interesting examples of the type of care that's only available to wealthy and powerful people. He described how the late Senator Ted Kennedy got sick and left Massachusetts, despite its prominent medical care, and flew past New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and right on down to Duke. What did he know that we didn't? Would the average person diagnosed with brain cancer know where to find the best doctors with reputations for operating on hard to reach tumors? The same goes with former president Bill Clinton; he knew exactly where to have his heart surgery – at a hospital known for dealing with complications. Low and behold, he ended up having complications with his surgery. Why is this life-saving information only known to select people, or why is publically available information not being utilized in making health care decisions for the everyday citizen?

Generally, there was laughter and nods of agreement through Greenspun's session of clever remarks and quick-witted banter on complicated matters. After the session, I even heard someone comment that most of us have no idea what the health care reform bill is really going to do for us. However, when Dr. Greenspun said he couldn't believe the government thinks it will get major savings out of reining in fraud, waste and abuse, the nodding stopped and furrowed brows washed over the crowd. He said it was an unrealistic belief that much of the fraud fighting and program integrity initiatives in the plans for health care reform can actually take a good chunk out of the trillion dollar reform price tag. Hands shot up and people spoke up, saying there is a mind-blowing amount of fraud taking place in this market, but the savings can be realized if done correctly.

Greenspun said health care reform should actually be known as health insurance reform. The good news about health reform is that primary care does get more money, but on the flipside, there will be $500 billion in Medicare cuts. So, we'll have more people covered, but the coverage will be poor. In regards to keeping health care prices down, Greenspun said everyone should have insurance, but we just don't want them to actually use it. The nation still remains divided on the legislation that restructures the nation's health care system. The only thing saving the reform from a full-on attack by opposition is the oil spill.

In closing, Greenspun shared his love of his Chipotle iPhone application, giving his endorsement that it is the best application out there for burrito fans. He said he can be out on the street at any time and find the closest Chipotle and place his order for pickup from the comfort of his phone. However, if he were hit by a bus, do you think he could just as quickly find the closest surgeon, and one that actually took his insurance? Perhaps he just answered his opening question.

Look for a complete analyst recap, summarizing additional conference sessions, available on INPUT's site shortly.