More government data
This week in health IT, the federal government revealed interesting information related to EHR adoption and hospital ratings.
EHR adoption continues to increase with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT data that 76 percent of non-federal acute care hospitals in 2014 adopted at least a basic EHR system with clinician notes—a 27 percent increase from 2013.
The ONC brief said that more than one-third of hospitals are using more advanced EHR functionality.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the first time introduced star ratings on Hospital Compare, the agency’s public information website, to make it easier for consumers to choose a hospital and understand the quality of care they deliver.
However, only 251 hospitals, or 7 percent, received the top score of five stars. The ratings are based on data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey (HCAHPS) measures that are included in Hospital Compare.
Consumers will now see 12 HCAHPS Star Ratings on Hospital Compare, one for each of the 11 publicly reported HCAHPS measures, plus a summary star rating that combines or rolls up all the HCAHPS Star Ratings. These star ratings will be updated each quarter.
Not quite as exciting as the frenetic pace of HIMSS15 but these developments reflect the state of health IT today.
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.