According to a study released this week, eight in 10 hospital CIOs are concerned they won’t meet the meaningful use standards set forth by the ARRA/HITECH Act to be able to demonstrate the "meaningful use" of electronic health records (EHR) by the federally established deadline of 2015. The study put out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers surveyed 120 hospital CIOs who are members of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).
Half of the CIOS surveyed said they would not be able to meet the first set of meaningful use requirements and apply for incentive bonuses in 2011. CIOs were also concerned about meeting the later two stages of meaningful use, with requirements including (1) advancing care processes through decision support; (2) providing and populating patients' personal health records; and (3) improving health outcomes through data-sharing outside their own organizations, such as with insurers, patients, and other providers.
On a more positive note, the study pointed out that hospitals and health systems that were successful on their journey toward meaningful use, engaged clinicians early on in the process. Distinct patterns of collaboration amongst physicians, patients, and health insurers were the key to success for these early adopters.
To read more on this study, click here.
