NEJM Perspective backs calls for socioeconomic, behavioral health data in EHRs
Getting patients' socioeconomic status and behavioral health information into EHRs should be part of Meaningful Use Stage 3, according to a perspective published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Two officials from the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Recommended Social and Behavioral Domains and Measures for Electronic Health Records--Nancy Adler and William Stead--wrote the perspective calling for the Department of Health and Human Services to require physicians to ask about this information and record it in the EHR.
The authors wrote that incorporating such data into EHRs would save money and allow for more patient-centered, accountable care. They also noted that it would allow for more accurate diagnoses and better treatment; improve shared decision making; help clinicians better identify risk factors; and expand the health system's ability to provide services tailored to a population's specific needs, among other benefits.
The authors said the effect on physicians' workflow would be minimal but incorporating this type of data would require "special attention to privacy, security and access."
"Including a concise panel of standard measures of social and behavioral determinants in every patient's EHR will increase clinical awareness of the patient's health status and enable clinical, public health and community resources to work in concert."
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.