AMA Aims to Deter Purchasing of Failure-Prone EMRs

The American Medical Association (AMA)—along with 95 other physician societies and organizations representing a majority of physicians, including both state and specialty professional groups—submitted a letter to CMS, dated March 15, 2010. On page two, in the introduction to the detailed comments on the proposed meaningful use rule, these organizations warn physicians not to purchase EMR products that have historically high failure rates:

“We believe that the larger concern should be deterring the purchasing of costly EHR products that fail to improve physician workflow, patient care, and practice needs. Industry experts have cited that such failures have adversely affected EHR adoption rates ranging from 50 to 80 percent.”

Finally, major physician organizations are relaying to the government their members’ concerns about the significant underlying problems and failures associated with traditional EMRs—the very type of EMR that the government is encouraging physicians to adopt. The letter supports the analysis I presented in my post, “Government EMR: Teetering on the Backs of Physicians,” in which I maintained that the meaningful use requirements just compound fundamental product problems. It also comes on the heels of the recent Milbank Quarterly study, as well as the new MGMA study revealing productivity loss (discussed in last week’s EMR Straight Talk), and a growing body of comments in the media about the negative impact that traditional EMRs have on productivity, (e.g., John Moore’s Chilmark Research story, “It’s Not About Meaningful Use.”)

This is my 52nd post on EMR Straight Talk, culminating a year of commentaries that began when President Obama announced the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—the legislation that launched the EHR incentive program. I will continue to passionately represent the interests of physicians, just as I have over the past year. It’s good to see that the physicians’ professional organizations are also recognizing the true issues facing their members, and that these groups now see my point of view as “mainstream” rather than contrarian.

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