Obamacare, Open Data Could Drive Health IT Innovation

Government regulations and open data initiatives inspire investment in platforms that support accountable care organizations.

Although many companies have yet to fully implement the Affordable Care Act, the law known as Obamacare could drive an increase in new health IT startups and innovation.

"Data that supports medical decision making and collaboration, dovetailing with new tools in the Affordable Care Act, are spurring the innovation necessary to deliver improved health care for more people at affordable prices," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote in a May 28 blog post.

Allowing doctors and hospitals to be reimbursed for outcomes and the value of their care rather than simply for procedures and tests is the goal of the ACA. Doctors are forming accountable care organizations (ACOs) and using this data to increase transparency in the quality of care.