California Physicians' EHR Systems Fall Short of Meaningful Use Criteria June 18, 2012 EHR, Physician Resource, Technology, UCSF EHR, meaningful use 0 Although most California physicians use electronic health record systems, only 30% of them use EHR systems that have the ability to meet the requirements of the meaningful use program, according to a report by UCSF researchers. Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments. The report summarizes findings from a 2011 survey that UCSF and the California Medical Board conducted for the California Department of Health Care Services and the California HealthCare Foundation. Report Findings 71% of surveyed California physicians said they use an EHR system at their main practice location (Modern Physician, 6/15); 61% said they use an EHR system that allows them to record clinical notes; and, 45% said they use an EHR system that allows them to generate reports of quality indicators such as the percentage of patients with diabetes who received recommended lab tests. California physicians at larger health care organizations were more likely to report having an EHR system than physicians at smaller practices, the report found. The report also found that more than half of surveyed California physicians who qualified for EHR incentive payments from Medi-Cal—California's Medicaid program—did not believe they were eligible for the payments. Click here to view the 35-page report. Recommendations The report's authors recommended that California officials and policymakers: Encourage EHR use among small physician practices; Educate physicians about eligibility criteria for Medi-Cal incentive payments; Emphasize the importance of using EHR systems that meet the meaningful use requirements; and, Evaluate whether EHR availability and meaningful use attestation increased after Medi-Cal incentive payments were distributed (Modern Physician, 6/15). Resources SFMS has partnered with the California Health Information Partnership and Services (CalHIPSO) and Lumetra to assist our physician members with EHR selection and implementation. CalHIPSO is a non-profit, vendor-neutral organization that provides technical assistance, guidance, and information on best practices to support and accelerate providers’ efforts to become meaningful users of certified EHR technology. As a federally designed Regional Extension Center (REC), CalHIPSO is working with ten Local Extension Centers (LECs)—Lumetra is the San Francisco LEC—to ensure the availability of local technical assistance, guidance, and information on best practices to support safety net providers in Northern and Southern California in the attainment of Stage 1 meaningful use of EHRs. Help is available to physicians in all stages of EHR adoption, including: EHR project management Consultation on vendor selection Strategic counsel on practice/workflow redesign Support on system implementation, health information exchange (HIE), and privacy/security Resources on patient education on EHRs SFMS members: For assistance with EHR please contact SFMS, or contact CALHIPSO or Lumetra directly (contact info listed below). Lumetra: Jeff Gutman or (415) 677-8447 CalHIPSO: Kent Waldsmith or (510) 302-3364 Source: California Healthline, June 18, 2012. Comments are closed.
