Two reports by the Bipartisan Policy Center contradict recent criticisms against stage 2 meaningful use regulations made by four prominent Republican Congressmen.
The Republican Congressmen sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging HHS to immediately suspend meaningful use incentive payments until the department "promulgates universal interoperable standards" and to "increase what's expected of meaningful users." They also criticized the current lack of interoperability among various electronic health records systems.
In contrast to those opinions, the companion reports released Oct. 4 by the Bipartisan Policy Center recommend accelerating electronic sharing of information across multiple healthcare settings to promote better coordination and higher quality services.
In Accelerating Electronic Information Sharing to Improve Quality and Reduce Costs in Health Care, the center offered eight recommendations to aid information exchange and coordinated care.
The second report, Clinician Perspectives on Electronic Health Information Sharing for Transitions of Care, is based on results of a survey of clinicians about their needs and preferences regarding electronic health information. Key findings from the survey include the following:
• A majority of clinicians believe that electronic exchange of health information will have a positive impact on healthcare.
• About 70 percent of clinicians surveyed believe that the lack of interoperability and an exchange infrastructure, and the cost associated with both, are major barriers to electronic information sharing.
• More than 80 percent of clinicians surveyed believe that medication lists and relevant laboratory and imaging test results are very important or essential types of health information to receive during transitions of care.
• More than half of respondents prefer that information they view as essential get pushed to them, with the ability to access the rest of the information through a query.
• More than 80 percent of clinicians surveyed consider "immediately" or "within 24 hours" to be reasonable timeframes for the exchange of information when a patient requires follow-up care.
• When asked how they want to update their EHRs with information from an external source, 57 percent of clinicians surveyed said they prefer to selectively "pick and choose" the external information they want to integrate into their own EHR.
House Republicans Urge HHS to Suspend Meaningful Use Incentive Payments
ONC Issues Meaningful Use Call to Action for Critical Access, Rural Hospitals
The Republican Congressmen sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging HHS to immediately suspend meaningful use incentive payments until the department "promulgates universal interoperable standards" and to "increase what's expected of meaningful users." They also criticized the current lack of interoperability among various electronic health records systems.
In contrast to those opinions, the companion reports released Oct. 4 by the Bipartisan Policy Center recommend accelerating electronic sharing of information across multiple healthcare settings to promote better coordination and higher quality services.
In Accelerating Electronic Information Sharing to Improve Quality and Reduce Costs in Health Care, the center offered eight recommendations to aid information exchange and coordinated care.
The second report, Clinician Perspectives on Electronic Health Information Sharing for Transitions of Care, is based on results of a survey of clinicians about their needs and preferences regarding electronic health information. Key findings from the survey include the following:
• A majority of clinicians believe that electronic exchange of health information will have a positive impact on healthcare.
• About 70 percent of clinicians surveyed believe that the lack of interoperability and an exchange infrastructure, and the cost associated with both, are major barriers to electronic information sharing.
• More than 80 percent of clinicians surveyed believe that medication lists and relevant laboratory and imaging test results are very important or essential types of health information to receive during transitions of care.
• More than half of respondents prefer that information they view as essential get pushed to them, with the ability to access the rest of the information through a query.
• More than 80 percent of clinicians surveyed consider "immediately" or "within 24 hours" to be reasonable timeframes for the exchange of information when a patient requires follow-up care.
• When asked how they want to update their EHRs with information from an external source, 57 percent of clinicians surveyed said they prefer to selectively "pick and choose" the external information they want to integrate into their own EHR.
More Articles on Meaningful Use:
Meaningful Use is Up to You: 4 Key Points From Dr. Farzad MostashariHouse Republicans Urge HHS to Suspend Meaningful Use Incentive Payments
ONC Issues Meaningful Use Call to Action for Critical Access, Rural Hospitals