Practice changes required to meet the "meaningful use" criteria of the federal government's electronic medical record incentive program would lead to significant decreases in physician productivity, according to data collected by the Medical Group Management Association.
Roughly two-thirds of respondents to an MGMA survey said productivity would decrease because of the proposed criteria, with 31 percent saying it would decrease by more than 10 percent, not including temporary disruptions due to launching a new EMR, according to an MGMA press release.
"In order to justify the high cost of software, hardware and staff training, the deployment of an EHR system in a medical group must produce administrative efficiencies and not result in a sustained and significant decrease in productivity," said William Jessee, MD, FACMPE, president and CEO of MGMA, in the release. "It is clear that the transition to electronic health information technologies must begin by successfully aligning incentives with overall cost to the implementing entities."
The data collected by the MGMA included feedback from 445 respondents in group practices around the country.
Source: MGMA.
Roughly two-thirds of respondents to an MGMA survey said productivity would decrease because of the proposed criteria, with 31 percent saying it would decrease by more than 10 percent, not including temporary disruptions due to launching a new EMR, according to an MGMA press release.
"In order to justify the high cost of software, hardware and staff training, the deployment of an EHR system in a medical group must produce administrative efficiencies and not result in a sustained and significant decrease in productivity," said William Jessee, MD, FACMPE, president and CEO of MGMA, in the release. "It is clear that the transition to electronic health information technologies must begin by successfully aligning incentives with overall cost to the implementing entities."
The data collected by the MGMA included feedback from 445 respondents in group practices around the country.
Source: MGMA.