IT Practice Consulting – Health IT Report – February 2016
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) – New Research on the Benefits for Providers and Patients
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are revolutionizing the delivery of healthcare services nationwide. Recent findings of the HIMSS 2016 Health Information Technology Value survey reveal that nearly 90% of advanced EHR users have witnessed at least one positive change in quality of care and operations. Data was collected exclusively from hospitals that have achieved Stage 6 or 7 on the HIMSS Analytics EMRAMSM model, as well as HIMSS Davies Award winners. The survey’s Health IT Value was contingent on a variety of quality measurements – satisfaction, treatment results, patient engagement – with the vast majority of recipients reporting the greatest improvements fell under Clinical Quality Performance.
Read more on the 2016 HIMSS Health Technology Value Study here:
iHealthbeat Articles – HIMSS EHR Use Associated with Quality Performance Benefits
So, what does EHR implementation really mean for you and your organization?
Clinical Quality and Efficiency
Over 83% of the 2016 HIMSS study recipients claimed that EHR programs substantially improved Clinical Quality Performance. Nearly unanimous reports evidence two main ways EHR implementation made all the difference:
1) Increase in clinician communications and,
2) Reduction of duplicative testing
The HIMSS survey also found that 60% of organizations with advanced EHR practices showed consistent growth in patient portal usage. Moreover, half of the recipients expressed that their organizations have had overwhelming positive experiences with interoperability, or health IT system integrations.
Patient Safety and Satisfaction
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently analyzed data from Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring Systems to investigate adverse patient events in hospitals with successful EHR implementation. Adverse events were categorized into four key experiences: drug reactions, hospital-acquired infections, general events, and post-procedural complications. AHRQ compiled information from approximately 45,000 patients at 1,351 locations nation-wide; adverse events were up to 30% less likely to occur in hospitals with high-functioning health IT programs. Results confirmed a significant relationship between EHRs and adverse drug event rates for patients hospitalized with pneumonia. A slightly weaker relationship was also observed with patients hospitalized for cardiovascular or general surgery.
Read more about AHRQ’s study here: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/electronic-health-records-trim-odds-hospital-acquired-infections-other-adverse-events-ahrq-says
Financial Savings
CRICO’s (Harvard’s Medical Malpractice Provider) 2015 Annual Comparative Benchmarking Report confirms that one-third of medical malpractice lawsuits can be directly traced back to faulty or incomplete communication. The report examined roughly 24,000 malpractice cases from 2009 to 2013 and calculated a $1.7 billion net realizable loss in settlements and legal fees. Furthermore, CRICO’s analysis determined that miscommunication regarding the patient’s condition, poor documentation, and forgetting to read medical records were the top three failures leading up to these malpractice litigations.
Read more about CRICO’s Annual Report here: http://healthitinteroperability.com/news/when-health-information-exchange-fails-providers-often-pay
Health Interoperability News: When Health Information Exchange Fails Providers Often Pay
Final Thoughts
Interoperability is on the rise in the medical community, and applying successful EHR implementation has become a top priority for organizations state-wide. With provider and patient benefits on one side, and avoidable consequences on the other, implementing EHRs has become a medical no-brainer.
If you’re wondering how to approach the daunting task of selecting, organizing, and implementing EHR systems into your practice or healthcare organization, don’t worry. Assistance is readily available for those practices, hospitals and organizations moving forward to become meaningful users of EHRs. IT Practice Consulting, Corp has assisted practices of all sizes to successfully implement new Health IT workflows and achieve Meaningful Use nation-wide.
Here in New York, the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health, assists thousands of practices in maximizing their health information technologies through a variety of state and federal grants. Their services can often be offered free or at low cost to eligible providers.
Need help determining whether your practice is eligible for state or federal grants? Contact IT Practice Consulting today.