Hospitals criticize electronic records rule
Published: 2010-01-12 00:41:00By: Kent Hoover | Washignton Business Journal | January 11, 2010
Hospitals and doctors contend the Obama administration is moving too fast in their efforts to promote the use of electronic health records.
At issue is a proposed regulation that spells out what hospitals and health providers must do in order to receive incentive payments for "meaningful use" of electronic health records. Thanks to the economic stimulus legislation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will pay up to $17 billion starting in 2011 to hospitals, doctors and other health providers that meet these standards.
The stimulus bill also included a stick to go along with this carrot: By 2015, CMS will cut Medicare reimbursements to hospitals and providers that aren't "meaningful users" of electronic medical records.
Many experts believe the expanded use of electronic records will improve the quality and efficiency of health care, and improve patient safety. The incentive payments, which will be offered through Medicare and Medicaid, "will accelerate and facilitate health information technology adoption by more individual providers and organizations throughout the health care system," said Dr. David Blumenthal, the federal government's national coordinator for health information technology.
A proposed regulation issued Dec. 30 by CMS outlines more than 20 electronic health records standards that hospitals and providers must meet next year in order to qualify for the incentive payments. These objectives focus on electronically capturing health information in a coded format, using that information to track key clinical conditions and coordinate care, and reporting clinical quality measures to the federal government or states.
The American Hospital Association contends the proposed rules are too stringent, and would penalize many hospitals that already are using health information technology to reduce medication errors, track outcomes and collect basic patient health information.
"As proposed, the current regulations may actually make it more
difficult for hospitals and doctors to adopt health information
technology," said Rick Pollack, the association's executive vice
president. "Unless significant changes are made and timelines
re-examined, it is unlikely that the vast majority of hospitals can
meet the proposed standards."