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Health Care: The Rush to Achieve "Meaningful Use" (and Payout)
Short term there are big incentives for health care providers to implement electronic health records. But after the initial burst of stimulus money is gone, will these new systems really be sustainable and at least as cost effective as existing systems? The answer seems obvious since the advantages and efficiencies of electronic data management are typically superior to equivalent paper-based systems.
A problem is that in order to maximize any stimulus payouts, EHR systems must be in place before the July 2011 deadline. The worry is that many health organizations may be rushing ahead too quickly, looking only at the stimulus dollars and not being careful enough in their planning.
Beacon Partners, a health-care consultancy, survey 200 hospitals to find how they are approaching electronic health records and IT management.
- Currently most health organizations spend less than 5 percent of their capital budgets on IT. Clinical equipment and facilities is where most of the spending dollars go.
- 70 percent worry most about the quality of application reporting in order to qualify for “Meaningful Use”, the criteria for receiving stimulus funding
- 80 percent say if they achieve “Meaningful Use” that they will maintain or increase their IT investments
- 60 percent said that they are working on implementing health information exchanges (HIE), 15 percent already have an HIE, and 25 percent are in the planning stages.
- More than three-quarter of hospitals prefer single-vendor solutions for inpatient applications rather than best of breed solutions.
- 40 percent plan to enhance their patient and physician web portals
