Employer Enterprise eHealth Strategies: An IT Framework for Managing Health Care Value

Employers are concerned about rising health care costs as an issue of strategic importance to them. Since, providing employee health benefits is important to attract and retain talent within the organizations, the only option left for employers is to manage these costs. Meanwhile, employers find that the quality of health care offered to their employees is not commensurate with the increasing health care costs. Together, cost and quality are two aspects of health care value that employers have to manage effectively. The adoption and usage of information systems and technology is perceived as one of the ways to manage health care value. Several employers in recent past have announced initiatives to use information systems and technology for increasing value of their health care dollars by increasing efficiency of health care delivery system, reducing medical errors, engaging consumers and providers, and tracking utilization of care. However, there is no known systematic way of managing the information systems and technology to manage the health care value from these activities. In this research, a conceptual framework of enterprise eHealth strategy has been validated by pursuing a case study methodology. The framework can serve as a road map for employers to manage information systems and technology in their organizations to manage health care value.