Early EHR Adopters More Likely To Participate In Incentive Programs
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
A study conducted by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers found significant differences between early and late EHR adopters.
Early adopters of EHRs and participants in EHR incentive programs proved to have more financial capacity, better organization, and better resources for supporting EHR implementation, according to research conducted by Weill Cornell Medical College. Published in Health Affairs, the study analyzed more than 26,000 doctors across the state of New York and payment data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the state Department of Health.
iHealth Beat explains participation in the Medicaid incentive program increased by 2.4 percentage points between 2011 and 2012. Participation in the Medicare incentive program rose by 15.8 percentage points.
“Those physicians who adopted the program may provide higher quality care to their patients,” said lead author Dr. Hye-Young Jung, an assistant professor of healthcare policy and research at Weill Cornell in a press release. “This difference may create a digital divide.”
EHR Intelligence reports the study found a “digital divide” between providers based on their participation in incentive programs. If participating physicians don’t successfully maintain EHRs implemented by the program funding, the government will receive lower ROI on the programs than expected.
“The expectation is that physicians and hospitals should be electronic,” said senior author Dr. Joshua Vest, and assistant professor of healthcare policy and research at Weill Cornell Medical College. “How would everybody feel if only half of the banks were electronic nowadays? Without additional support to move forward there is the potential to stall out among those who don’t have the resources or capability to adopt EHRs.”
“Electronic health records are vital not only because of their ability to efficiently provide physicians with a comprehensive portrait of and decision support for their patients, but also to drive new healthcare delivery models that can improve the value and quality of clinical care,” said Dr. Rainu Kaushal, chair of the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research and the Frances and John L. Loeb Professor of Medical Informatics at Weill Cornell, who is a study co-author. “This study highlights the crucial work that Dr. Jung and Dr. Vest are doing to advance national policy and innovation in this key area.”