Meaningful use's difficult details

Mary Stevens, editor, CMIO magazine

CHIME’s third quarterly meaningful use readiness survey revealed that although nine out of 10 CIOs are confident their facilities will qualify for meaningful use at some point, only 7 percent said they would make the MU grade early. This is down from 28 percent in the first readiness survey that was conducted last August. Taking questions at a press conference about the survey, CHIME presenters offered possible explanations for some of the findings.

Q: Are these latest survey results more evidence that getting to Stage 1 is a more arduous process than people anticipated?
A: That’s exactly what this is showing us. Everyone is diving into the actual regulations, then also diving into what they specifically need to do in their organizations. While they may have been doing some of the things that are in the measures already, like collecting vital signs, they may not have been collecting them in the right place to be reported properly. As people start to find these kinds of details out, I think their confidence in obtaining MU very quickly is beginning to wane.

Q: If early optimism is declining, does that mean attaining MU Stage 1 later will also be called into question?
A: The current survey numbers don’t show this concern. Some respondents who had expected to meet MU earlier in the program have since changed their answer to “hopefully in the later stages.” Some organizations have undergone a change in strategy, which might also contribute to these numbers declining.

Q: Have people been surprised at how complex the quality outcomes reporting aspect has been?
A: Yes, absolutely. Many of us are already reporting some of these exact same quality metrics to CMS right now. We thought, “well we have this data.” But a lot of data are captured through abstraction, pulling data out and keeping tabs that way. It becomes complicated when this has to be generated through your EHR—automated physician notes are not required until the proposed Stage 2, so you don’t have your physicians recording some of the data you need in a granular fashion.

Q: In the November survey, 62 percent of CIOs said physician CPOE adoption was their greatest challenge in meeting meaningful use. That had dropped to 26 percent in the most recent survey. Have a lot of them figured it out?
A: It’s just that as a No. 1 concern, CPOE has dropped—quality metrics leaped up and overshadowed CPOE. When sites get the quality metrics and reporting tools from their vendors, then it sinks in that we don’t have data where we need it.

How might these numbers change in the next survey? Tell me your predictions at mstevens@ trimedmedia.com.

Mary Stevens, editor