Electronic Health Records - A Physician Must Have?

December 19, 2011

08:14 AM

The amount of office based physicians using electronic health records (EHRs) is up 12% from 2010 according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. With electronic usage demonstrating positive health outcomes according to some case studies, and matched with a government incentive, adoption is likely to grow.

Health Benefits:
The prime reasons for adopting electronic health records are for improved quality of care and an advanced level of efficiency. So it should not be a surprise that physicians found this to be true. Practice Fusion interviewed 100 primary care providers and found that 59% cited the use of new technology as a way of making things easier for their practice.

Likewise, Legacy Health began EHR implementation when they found physicians’ productivity diminishing. Physicians were spending hours after their normal day logging and documenting information which lowered moral. When Legacy switched to hiring college students interested in medicine as medical scribes, physician and patient satisfaction increased while more patients were seen.

What’s the Incentive?
Next to increasing efficiency and improving patient care, eligible professionals may receive incentive payments for implementing, adopting and demonstrating meaningful use of their electronic health records. Those eligible may receive as much as $44,000 over 5 years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program and up to $63,750 over six years under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

52% of physicians reported intent to apply for the Medicare or Medicaid EHR incentive payment this year, a 26% increase from last year. In the present CDC study, 43% of physicians who are planning to apply for incentives had EHR systems with functions that would allow them to meet 8 Stage 1 Core Set meaningful use objectives. However, to qualify for Stage 1 meaningful use incentive payments, physicians need to meet all 15 Stage 1 core objectives, as well as 5 of 10 menu set objectives.

I believe more hospitals and physicians clinics will continue adopting electronic health records as further results of health organizations who have already implemented EHRs come to light.

James Ellis, CEO, Health Care Realty Development Company, is a nationally recognized successful real estate investor and developer of medical office properties with a comprehensive knowledge of sophisticated real estate transactions, cost effective designs, and efficient property management.