Are you frustrated with the government’s Stimulus Program?
Physicians and administrators now have a golden—and likely final—opportunity to influence the government’s EHR certification process.
Document your EHR experience—failure or success—by posting your comment on the government’s website between now and November 15.
The seeds of doubt have been planted regarding the ability of the Stimulus Legislation’s HIT incentives to deliver widespread adoption of EHRs. Washington is finally listening to physicians. Our Voice of the Physician Petition is being read at the highest levels of government, the media is documenting your concerns, and there is no evidence of a stampede to adopt what are marketed as certifiable EHRs. SRS has now testified twice before the HIT Policy Committee. This week we argued that what prevents physicians from adopting traditional EMRs is their negative impact on productivity.
Recognizing the existence of significant obstacles to adoption, the HIT Standards Committee has launched an Implementation Workgroup charged with “bringing forward ‘real-world’ implementation experience into the HIT Standards Committee recommendations, with special emphasis on strategies to accelerate the adoption of proposed standards, or mitigate barriers, if any.”
Today, the Implementation Workgroup held a public hearing on EHR Adoption Experiences and announced its website to solicit feedback from practices regarding their experiences with EMR adoption—both good and bad. They are asking for real-life implementation experiences, so this is an opportunity to educate them on what works and what doesn’t. Feedback from the website will be sent to the committee on November 19, so you must respond quickly.
To make the decision-makers aware of the issues that are preventing the adoption of traditional, point-and-click EHRs—whether they concern productivity, EHR complexity, lack of product usability, or anything else—it is imperative that people share their experiences now. Your comments will also stimulate others to post their thoughts—if everyone shared their experiences in this forum, the requirements would have to change.
Go to the government’s website now, scroll down to the comments section, and speak your mind.
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