Recently, the Young Health Professionals Society (YHPS) sat down with David Salinas (DS), co-founder of this organization to discuss his professional experiences his view of the future of healthcare.

YHPS: You are currently working in the health information technology , which has received increased attention due to the recent passing of the national healthcare bill. Tell us about your work.

DS: At the American College of Cardiology (ACC), I develop educational initiatives to help cardiologists increase the adoption of Health IT and understand federal Health IT policy efforts. I also serve in a more technical role working with software vendors to create health IT tools that may be used by cardiologists to improve the quality of care they deliver.

YHPS: What challenges do you currently see facing adoption of health IT?

DS: With any new technology, there is some hesitation about its utility. I’ll use Electronic Health Records (EHRs) as an example. Until recently, there has been mixed results as to how effective the adoption of EHRs actually is. Combined with heavy amount of initial investment physicians have to make, most practices were waiting to see how the technology advances before adopting. However, the federal government has recently set out to incentivize adoption EHRs, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the final rulings on Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use. This helps defray the initial costs of implementation, but physicians still need to believe the technology will help them better take care of their patients. As more studies have returned showing actual quality improvement using EHRs, physicians’ confidence in the technology should increase.

YHPS: Considering how specialized your field is, how did you get to this point in career?

DS: Well, like most people, I did not follow the career path I had set out several years ago. Instead I took advance of opportunities when they existed. Prior to the ACC, I worked at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a healthcare analyst, developing performance measures to assess health plans in the areas of resource use and special needs. This experienced exposed me to the policy-side of the health field and also how to measure outcomes of quality of care. I got my first formalized introduction to the health field while completing my Masters of Health Science from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, concentrating in Health Policy. Prior to that, I was working in the statistics center at the American Institute for Research (AIR). My interests varied greatly, with each opportunity I learned more about where I want to work in the health field.

YHPS: It seems like you to have a variety of experiences, where do you see yourself involved in the health field in the next 5 to 10 years?

DS: I am actually starting graduate school this fall to pursue a Masters of Business Administration at Northwestern University. I feel adding a business perspective to my experiences will help me create the effect I want to have on the health field.

YHPS: And what effect is that?

DS: Well, I have worked at three non-profit organizations in the health field, and I see the benefit of having executives with business and health experience leading each organization. Non-profit organization set out to do incredible things, but perhaps they could better realize their mission if they added more fiscal responsibility or strategic outlook. So in the future, I would look to return to non-profit organizations and bring some practices from the for-profit side to help them grow their capacity to improve the health sector.

YHPS: That sounds like it would make a big difference in non-profit organizations. What advice do you have for someone pursuing a path in health IT?

DS: As I mentioned earlier, it is a niche field, which does require someone to be comfortable in technical and policy jargon. Since I had a more technical background in computer programming, my MHS program allowed me to focus on developing my health policy skills, while concentrating in health IT studies were possible. There are additional degrees that are popping up specializing in health IT. I would say it’s easier to go from the technology side to health IT, than it is to go from the policy side first and gain the technology expertise—though not impossible. Organizations like Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) would be a great place to start for someone who is interested in health IT. To keep on top of federal efforts, the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) has lots of information.

YHPS: Thank you for taking time to speak with us about your experiences, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!