Peter Basch, Chairman of the American College of Physicians’ Medical Informatics Committee asserts that it is not easy for office based physicians to start using Electronic Health Records. He states, “Read the 64 measures, understand them, and know what constitutes the denominator and numerator. You've gotten past the basics in Stage 1 (of Meaningful Use), and now you'll select — based on your specialty and scope of practice — nine measures in appropriate domains or your own compilation of nine measures, these are the nine conventions you'll use to either maintain excellence in outcomes or improve outcomes.”
Experts have listed down some reasons why physicians might not get the result they expected from an EHR software implementation, with three of them listed below.
1. Not choosing the right measures for your practice
There have been numerous reported instances where physicians, after choosing a measure they did not fully understand, realized it later that it did not make any sense for their own practice.
2. Using the EHR Software for purposes that it was not built for
One of the measures for example, requires the physician to provide specific educational material to 10 or more than 10 percent of patients during that reporting period. Now what if the EHR does not have the capability to generate that material, or identify specific patients based on their medical history?
3. Choosing a quality measure without checking if you have the appropriate resources for it
Given the boom in EHR technology and providers trying to get the perfect ehr software for their practice, they face the challenge of ensuring that they have implemented EHRs that are compatible with what the industry is currently using. Providers also need to start getting past the basic usage of EHRs and into the software as an advanced tool to better care quality.
Experts have listed down some reasons why physicians might not get the result they expected from an EHR software implementation, with three of them listed below.
1. Not choosing the right measures for your practice
There have been numerous reported instances where physicians, after choosing a measure they did not fully understand, realized it later that it did not make any sense for their own practice.
2. Using the EHR Software for purposes that it was not built for
One of the measures for example, requires the physician to provide specific educational material to 10 or more than 10 percent of patients during that reporting period. Now what if the EHR does not have the capability to generate that material, or identify specific patients based on their medical history?
3. Choosing a quality measure without checking if you have the appropriate resources for it
Given the boom in EHR technology and providers trying to get the perfect ehr software for their practice, they face the challenge of ensuring that they have implemented EHRs that are compatible with what the industry is currently using. Providers also need to start getting past the basic usage of EHRs and into the software as an advanced tool to better care quality.