Survey: Many missing out on MU money
EHR adoption rates may be growing among healthcare providers, but many don’t yet have plans to achieve the functionalities required by Stage 1 of meaningful use, according to a survey conducted by IVANS.
In early January, the Stamford, Conn.-based health IT vendor electronically collected responses from more than 700 healthcare providers of which 42 percent reported they currently used EHRs and 39 percent reported they had no plans to implement Stage 1 of meaningful use.
Of the 39 percent without plans, 44 percent were from organizations ineligible for incentives through the meaningful use program and 26 percent were from organizations eligible for the program’s incentives. Additionally, 33 percent of respondents said that budgetary concerns were the largest obstacle to sharing information electronically and 21 percent said it was changing technology requirements.
“Whether eligible for meaningful use incentives or not, many providers point to such barriers as waiting on technology upgrades from vendors, integrating new changes into current workflow processes and understanding and adopting clinical quality measures within a short period of time,” said IVANS president of healthcare services Michael Schramm in a Feb. 20 statement. “If these issues are not resolved and integrated into subsequent stages of meaningful use, it will be difficult for providers to become meaningful users, thus resulting in further misalignment of financial incentives down the road.”
Based on the survey’s results, IVANS suggested that payors should develop and align pay-for-performance programs with federal criteria for receiving meaningful use incentives.
In early January, the Stamford, Conn.-based health IT vendor electronically collected responses from more than 700 healthcare providers of which 42 percent reported they currently used EHRs and 39 percent reported they had no plans to implement Stage 1 of meaningful use.
Of the 39 percent without plans, 44 percent were from organizations ineligible for incentives through the meaningful use program and 26 percent were from organizations eligible for the program’s incentives. Additionally, 33 percent of respondents said that budgetary concerns were the largest obstacle to sharing information electronically and 21 percent said it was changing technology requirements.
“Whether eligible for meaningful use incentives or not, many providers point to such barriers as waiting on technology upgrades from vendors, integrating new changes into current workflow processes and understanding and adopting clinical quality measures within a short period of time,” said IVANS president of healthcare services Michael Schramm in a Feb. 20 statement. “If these issues are not resolved and integrated into subsequent stages of meaningful use, it will be difficult for providers to become meaningful users, thus resulting in further misalignment of financial incentives down the road.”
Based on the survey’s results, IVANS suggested that payors should develop and align pay-for-performance programs with federal criteria for receiving meaningful use incentives.