New research conducted by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA, Englewood, Colo.) suggests that the changes in practice operations necessary to meet the 25 “meaningful use” criteria proposed as part of the federal EHR incentive program would lead to decreased provider productivity.
The research also identified which meaningful use criteria could prove particularly challenging for physicians to accomplish.
MGMA’s respondents estimated the change in provider productivity resulting from the implementation of all 25 of the meaningful use criteria, not including the temporary decrease in productivity that occurs with any implementation of a new EHR. More than two-thirds of respondents (67.9 percent) said that physician productivity will decrease, with 31 percent stating that physician productivity will decrease more than 10 percent.
The MGMA research also highlights the specific criteria that many respondents say would be “difficult” or “very difficult” to achieve. These include:
- 80 percent of all patient requests for an electronic copy of their health information be fulfilled within 48 hours (45.9 percent)
- 10 percent of all patients be given electronic access to their health information within 96 hours
MGMA conducted the research in February 2010, and data include feedback from 445 respondents representing providers in medical group practices throughout the United States.
