The Challenge of EHR Implementation

Many believe that 2012 is the transition year from what we have done in the past to EHR based medicine. Recently, Medical Economics published the results of a survey performed by a healthcare research company, SK&A. After querying almost 40,000 practice locations they found that 72.6% of physicians offices aren’t sure yet when they are going to adopt EHR technology. The survey, “EHR Adoption in Medical Offices Looking Forward,” also identified that almost 21% of physicians were not even aware of government financial incentives for EHR adoption. Not surprisingly, the larger the practice the more likely they are to have implemented an EHR.

 

As has been discussed in previous issues of South Florida Hospital News & Healthcare Report, a dichotomy is beginning to develop between the larger single specialty practices, the hospital owned practices, and everyone else. If this trend continues, it could have long-term detrimental effects on the practice of medicine in our region. As we have seen with the recent decision by CMS to grant a 3-month reprieve on compliance with 5010 standards, the government moved the target back due to the fact that change is not being accepted as quickly as anticipated even with over one year to implement. Why has this happened, and why does it appear physicians are not as receptive to EHR implementation as would have been expected?

 

I think it all boils down to education. Physicians need to make the time to learn, and vendors need to make the time to educate. If physicians understood the HITECH Act and how they could receive compensation for implementation of an EHR, more would. If physicians understood how full implementation of their EHR could make their practice life easier, they would. The problem is the smaller physician practice does not have enough time or does not make enough time to learn about things critical to their long-term success.

 

The average physician does not care about whether software is server based or cloud based. The average physician does not care about the “APPS” that might be helpful to them. The average physician needs information to make decisions and if it is provided to them, they will. It is my opinion that a large percentage of the 72.6% of physicians nationwide who are not sure when they are going to implement an EHR feel that way because they are lacking the basic knowledge upon which to make a decision. It is incumbent on our vendors to do more than a hard sell for their services while putting down the competitor. Enhancing the knowledge base of our physicians in the coming year will fuel the implementation of the EHR and other technology.