Achieving meaningful use doesn't, or shouldn't, lie solely on the shoulders of a hospital or health system's IT department. In addition to clinician use and patient engagement requirements to achieve standing for attestation, another department can play a key role in maximizing EHR use and achieving meaningful use.
One of supply chain's potential contributions to the push toward meaningful use is its data capture and aggregation abilities, according to a report in The Source, the member publication of Brentwood, Tenn.-based Health Trust. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's unique device identifier rule went into effect, which requires medical devices to be labeled with identification numbers to help track them through the supply chain, from manufacturer to hospital to patient.
This type of tracking can help improve patient safety, address adverse events and handle potential recalls, and it can become even more significant if the information is also hosted in the EHR and made available in clinical and administrative workflows, according to the report.
"I am more optimistic than ever that there is growing recognition for the role supply chain can play in improving meaningful use of EHRs," said Karen Conway, co-chair of HIMSS Supply Chain Management Interest Group and executive director of industry relations for GHX, in the report. 'That doesn't mean supply chain is a commonly used term in the hallways of the ONC, but the importance of documenting data on devices used in patient care is gaining attention."
Conversely, hosting such information in EHRs can help supply chains make better-informed decisions regarding value-based purchasing, according to the report.
While EHRs capture the data, supply chain professionals and experts are equipped with data analytic capabilities to translate the data into usable information across many different departments. To integrate supply chain efforts across an enterprise, supply chain leaders should illustrate the types of data that EHRs can gather and demonstrate how that data can help the organization meet organizational goals.
"They key is showing the value of capturing the data consistently and how it delivers value to so many different aspects of healthcare delivery — from cost control to clinical quality," said Ms. Conway.
Adopted from THE SOURCE magazine, ©HealthTrust 2014