MU has led to digital divide

A study of New York providers participating in the Meaningful Use (MU) incentive program found "systematic differences" between early adopters of EHRs and those who did not use EHRs before implementation of the program.

The study, published in Health Affairsanalyzed MU participation among more than 26,000 physicians in New York between 2011 and 2012.

The researchers examined payment data. In 2011, about 80 percent of New York physicians did not participate in MU but the rate  increased significantly in 2012.

According to the study, participation in the Medicaid incentive program increased by 2.4 percentage points between 2011 and 2012, while participation in the Medicare incentive program rose by 15.8 percentage points.

Early EHR adopters were more likely to continue participating in MU and "less likely to be nonparticipants or late adopters or to skip a program year," compared with physicians who did not use EHRs until after the incentive program started, according to the findings.

Early adoption of EHRs also was associated with access to resources and organizational support for EHR implementation; increased financial capacity; and prior experience with health IT.

The findings suggest that MU helped advance EHR adoption but using the systems consistently poses its own barriers leading to a gap in quality among providers.

Beth Walsh,

Editor

Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.