Mixed messages
Mixed messages for EHRs this month with Meaningful Use incentive payments increasing but dissatisfaction prevalent.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has paid out $19.2 billion to 440, 998 registered providers participating in the federal EHR incentive program.
Approximately 88 percent of all eligible hospitals have received an EHR incentive payment so far, reported Robert Anthony, deputy director of the CMS Office of E-Health Standards and Services at the Feb. 4 Health IT Policy Committee meeting.
Almost 63 percent of Medicare and Medicaid EPs have made a financial commitment to an EHR and more than 340,000 Medicare and Medicaid EPs have received an EHR incentive payment.
Other figures indicate that few healthcare providers have adopted an EHR that would meet the requirements of Meaningful Use Stage 2. Survey results from National Center for Health Statistics found that 78 percent of respondents reported some use of an EHR system in 2013.
Sixty-nine percent of physicians surveyed said they intended to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid EHR incentive programs. However, only 13 percent of office-based physicians said they intend to participate in the program and had an EHR system with the capabilities to meet 14 of the 17 Stage 2 core set objectives.
Yet another survey found that physicians are unhappy with EHR systems, with many citing high costs and negative impacts on patient care, according to a survey conducted by research firm MPI Group on behalf of Medical Economics.
Nearly 70 percent of the 967 respondents said they are dissatisfied with EHR systems. About 45 percent of physicians feel patient care is actually worse as a result of adopting EHR technology, two-thirds would not purchase their current EHR system again, and 43 percent of physicians reported that these systems have resulted in significant financial losses, according to the survey.
Are you satisfied with your EHR system? Please share your experience.
Beth walsh
Clinical Innovation + Technology editor
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.