Now that over 1/2 of healthcare providers are using electronic health records (EHR), what’s next? Proving “meaningful use” for Stage 1 was a breeze compared to Stage 2. Get ready. The experts say it’s a nightmare.
“During a frank discussion of the meaningful use program in Denver last week, one hospital IT chief said he wasn’t sure some organizations ‘really, truly grasp the magnitude of the some of the changes’ demanded by Stage 2…. If Stage 1 meaningful use means providers had to demonstrate the capability to perform core measures, after all, Stage 2 is where they’ll actually have to perform them.
Those tasks include data exchange, more robust security, imaging availability and patient engagement. And they could be a tall order for some hospitals, said those who’ve been in the trenches.”
From Healthcare IT News July 30, 2013
The IT healthcare environment is changing fast. The federal government has now paid $5.8 billion dollars in incentives for EHR use. As the use of EHRs grow, many healthcare providers are looking toward Stage 2 completion. This is a whole new “ballgame” for many providers who already found Stage 1 challenging.
Stage 2 requires a more rigorous health exchange, increased capacity for e-prescribing and incorporating labs and electron ic transmission of patient summaries across multiple settings, etc. These increased requirements along with the many other items healthcare providers are implementing such as the Affordable Care Act, medical centered homes, ICD-10 transition is causing many providers to feel stressed on overwhelmed.
As the healthcare environment continues to change, there are many resources to use when trying to plan for the challenges. HealthIT.gov and HIMSS EHR Association. More to come…
