Comments on: Government EHR Program: Potentially Harmful Unintended Consequences

By: Vishal

Vishal — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:53:53 +0000

I think today medical practitioners are looking to avail of this federal incentive by trying to comply with the definition of meaningful use but at the same time EHR providers are looking at their own set of profits.
This misunderstanding is mostly I believe as a result of wrong interpretation of the federal guidelines. The EHR providers need to look at these guidelines from the prospective of the practitioners who deal with different specialties.
Each specialty EHR has its own set of challenges or requirements which I believe is overlooked by in most EHR vendors in a effort to merely follows federal guidelines. This is resulting in low usability to the practitioners, thus less ROI, finally redundancy of the EHR solution in place.
I think ROI is very important factor that should be duly considered when look achieve a ‘meaning use’ out of a EHR solution. Though one may get vendors providing ‘meaning use’ at a lower cost, their ROI / savings through the use of their EHR might be pretty low when compared to costlier initial investment.

Also the introduction of REC’s through the HITECH act is a great way to avail of quality EHR solutions at competitive prices. The stiff competition among not only these REC’s but also among EHR vendors (to become a preferred vendor of a given REC) will result in lot of positives to medical practioners.

Looking at the funding provided to the REC’s, the staggered grant allocation system also promises to be an unbiased way of allocating funds. It will also help in the concept of REC’s helping out each with their own unique business models. It can be one of the possible answers to the
’safe vendor challenge’ as discussed by many critics.

By: paul roemer

paul roemer — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:54:24 +0000

When applications vendors buy another vendor, rarely do they do it because they like the product–they like that vendor’s customer base. They let the acquired product die, collect maintenance fees, and when the customer has had enough of it, the acquiring vendor flips the customers to their legacy product.

By: David Lu

David Lu — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:28:51 +0000

I also foresee many companies in the EHR industry biting the dust on the trail of the federal EHR stimulus program. There will be plenty of consolidation within the industry and many doctors will “be holding the bag” to many different EHRs that will not be technically supported. For example, my MediNote EMR works great for my ophthalmology practice but Eclipsys bought it for $70 million dollars in 2009 and now has decided not to support it or make it CCHIT compliant. The EHR companies rushing to cash in on this stimulus program will be the big winners here.

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:46:36 +0000

I agree with much of what has been said. I feel strongly as a worker in the healthcare system that there are grave concerns about the use of EMRs, but I am realistic enough to know that they are already part of our world and will only grow to be a bigger part in coming years. I feel that the number one concern for all EMR software lies in protecting the consumers, both clients and medical personnel. Thus, I am concerned that there is not more involvement of those in the healthcare community, as this is not merely a software issue, but also a healthcare issue. I would like to see more activity by physicians and nurse in determining what is necessary to make the systems usable and to ensure that all of the potential benefits of EMRs are realized. I believe that cannot happen without more healthcare personnel input. I worry that the government will not handle this situation better than is has handled so many others and that as consumers, we will suffer the consequences. However, I can see no way around government involvement in our society, because our corporations, small businesses, etc. are not renowned for their willingness to work together and I do not see this changing in the near future, at least not as long as making a buck is the ultimate goal of developers and healthcare agencies. It will be interesting to see what develops if healthcare reform ever comes to pass, but for now, the government is, unfortunately, our only option.

By: David Teater

David Teater — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:18:50 +0000

Billing and EMR, I hear all the time about this great EMR. You can have the best EMR in the world and if your billing does not work what’s the point? I think many people miss that when looking. EMR companies may have a great EMR, but then fall short on the billing side because it is not their focus. If you can’t get paid on on the hard work you have produced from the EMR, that does not make sense. People need to slow down and really look at all parts of their practice and how the flow will work. Are there checks and balances, etc…?