A vast majority of healthcare providers still have work to do when it comes to preparing for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, according to a Health IT Industry Outlook Survey conducted by Stoltenberg Consulting.
The survey took place during this year's Health Information and Management Systems Society's annual conference in Orlando, Fla. Participants included IT professionals, as well as executive/C-suite representatives.
Here are four survey findings.
1. More than half of respondents (64 percent) said they were "unprepared" or "very unprepared" for MACRA.
2. A similar number of respondents (68 percent) said clinical, financial and IT departments should work together to comply with MACRA's Quality Payment Program.
3. Thirty-one percent of respondents said the top QPP challenge is "revising data management/reporting mechanisms to meet new reporting requirements," according to the survey. Twenty-nine percent of respondents cited "motivating the entire organization to collectively work together to achieve goals" as the top QPP challenge.
4. Respondents cited lack of budget (44 percent) and lack of qualified applicants to fill health IT positions (43 percent) as the top reasons why healthcare organizations' IT departments are not entirely staffed.
In response to the survey, Stoltenberg offered multiple tips for healthcare professionals, such as "create a MACRA QPP roadmap" and "invest in training and support."