Medical Records



Medical Records

Introduction

It has been more than a decade since hospitals and health care systems are working on a promising path of health information technology (HIT), which focuses in providing a safer, effective, and less expensive care. There are several success stories; however, there are still many organizations finding it difficult to implement HIT, in order to improve care with lower costs. Apprehending the true promise of HIT, particularly electronic health records (EHRs), is more difficult than what it portrays. “Electronic health record (EHR) systems enable hospitals to store and retrieve detailed patient information to be used by health care providers, and sometimes patients, during a patient's hospitalization, over time, and across care settings, “ (Carroll, Edwards & Rodin, 2012).

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economics and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act developed some incentives and penalties promoting the implementation and usage of certified EHR systems. The ultimate goal for this practice is to augment the quality and value of health care in America. In core, HITECH went ahead creating a deadline of 2015 for all leading hospitals and physician offices to adopt a certified EHR system. They must meet a set of critical requirements to avoid Medicare payment penalties. Before 2015, HITECH offers Medicare incentive payments to all hospitals that are able to portray a meaningful use of certified EHR system. A few hospitals and physicians may also possess the eligibility for Medicaid incentive payments, which will be ordered by the state. According to CMS estimates, incentive payments ranging from $14 to $27 billion will be issued over the span of next ten years, but the actual spending is dependent on the number of qualifying hospitals and physicians (Carroll, Edwards & Rodin, 2012).

Hospitals across the country started building EHR systems and identifying their potential to enhance the patient safety and efficient delivery of care, even before the launch of HITECH. The significant point here is that implementing an EHR system is not an easy task. It is a time consuming and resource intensive process. For this purpose, the timeline which HITECH established, plus the regulatory requirements for its implementation may prove to be a difficult challenge for hospitals. Furthermore, the major chunk of the incentive payments will be made retrospectively. This is why several IT leaders are continuously giving warning to hospital CEOs that their primarily goal of implementing an EHR system should not be of federal funding (“Health Care Leader Action Guide”, 2010).

Discussion

What is an Electronic Health Record (EHR)?

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) define Electronic Health Record (EHR) as a longitudinal electronic record comprising of all health information of patients generated by one or more visits to any care delivery setting. The health information will consist of the patients' demographic data, progress notes, health-related issues, prescribed medication, past medical history and history of immunization, laboratory data and radiology reports. This new and beneficial system automates the workflow of clinicians. The EHR possess an ability to ...