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Implications of IT on Health Systems and Physicians. Amy Walker MS, RN, CPHQ, FACHE, NEA-BC. HITECH Act? hmm, sounds familiar…. Signed into law February 2009 as part of ARRA Goal 90% of U.S. physicians and 70% of hospitals using EHR by 2019 How?
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Implications of IT on Health Systems and Physicians Amy Walker MS, RN, CPHQ, FACHE, NEA-BC
HITECH Act? hmm, sounds familiar… • Signed into law February 2009 as part of ARRA • Goal • 90% of U.S. physicians and 70% of hospitals using EHR by 2019 • How? • Provide $19 Billion to doctors and hospitals through DHS to implement EHR by 2011
How did we get here? • Greater use of EHR is pragmatic • Improve patient care • Enhance records management • Easier to enforce compliance with standards • Improve productivity and performance • Cut costs over the long haul • Next: The Path to Public Policy
Sent to highest ranking official (President or Governor) Creating Public Policy (simplified)
Demonstrating Meaningful Use Matters • Summary of Meaningful Use Criteria • http://healthpolicyandreform.nejm.org/?attachment_id=3742 • Examples • Record patient demographics • >50% structured data • Report clinical quality measures to CMS or states • 2011: aggregate, 2012: submit electronically • Use EHR to identify patient-specific education resources • Provide to >10% of patients • Provide patients with e-health data upon request • >50% within 3 days of request
What does it mean to CIS & Providers? • Increased reliance on IT • Greater need for informatics professionals • SWOT analysis should come sooner rather than later • Suddenly, certifications matters more than ever • More governance / new regulatory and reimbursement guidelines • Meaningful Use
Where’s the money going to come from? • Grants • Loans • Penalties • Incentive payments based on three criteria: • Use of EHR meets HHS standards. • Connectivity to other providers to share a patient’s health history in a secure electronic environment. • Capability to provide regular reports on the use of technology to the HHS.
But, money is a two-way street… • There will be penalties for those who fail to adopt HIT by the year 2015. • Program depends on some providers not meeting Meaningful Use in order to pump money back into regulation/enforcement system • Additional civil penalties (enforced by state attorney general) may be imposed for collecting the wrong patient data • With 5 levels of severity, penalties start at $100 and top out at $50,000 per violation with a cap of $1.5 million!
Meaningful Use Timeline Image Credit: managemypractice.com
How do I get there from here? • Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has approved two entities as able to review and certify EHRs • Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) • Drummond Group Inc. • Unless your current system is homegrown, piecemeal or older, your EHR vendor is likely already pursuing certification • (and/or trying to sell you a new or upgraded system – which they promise will be certifiable)
Things you need to know… • Systems only need to be certified once. • All required functionality must be present in order to obtain certification. • True even if you have no use for a particular functionality. • If the vendor isn’t seeking certification, you can – but you have to pay. • However, if others have the same system, you can share the costs. • Good Source for FAQ and Answers: • http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/community/onc_regulations_faqs/3163
Impact on Care Delivery • Easier to share patient information • Therefore, easier to coordinate patient care across multiple providers • E-health records can help improve patient/caregiver relations • Yes, we have an aging population…but a greater percentage of the population is tech savvy, more informed and expects immediacy • There’s really no other option than to make records readily accessible (and secure). • Greater efficiency. • Enhances ability to document at the point of care
Questions? Thank you!