EHR Adoption Brings The Unexpected

By Jim Tate, President, EMR Advocate, www.emradvocate.com
Twitter: @jimtate

It’s not surprising that EHR Adoption & Meaningful Use (MU) tops Health IT Outcomes’s list of the Top 10 Health IT Trends again this year. From large health systems to community hospitals and private practices, the pursuit of MU — driven by federal incentives — is the focus of most health IT plans. While I expect much of the same in 2013, I also predict some unexpected EHR developments in the year ahead. Here’s what I see in my crystal ball:

Consolidation And Shakeout: From the top of the vendor food chain to the bottom, we will continue to see upheaval. This trend began in 2012 and will gather momentum and continue in earnest throughout 2013. We saw vendors with excellent clinical documentation tools fail to find traction in the marketplace, causing them to throw in the business towel. The tectonic plates stimulated by the HITECH incentives are affecting the baseline gravity of the HIT industry, and 2013 will see an acceleration of mergers, acquisitions, and surprising failures.

Entrenchment: EHRs will become more and more intertwined with the DNA of healthcare delivery. Prior to the stimulating effect of the EHR incentives, it was only the “early adopters” who were the missionaries of EHRs. In 2012 and 2013, we are seeing the “early” and “late majority” join the bandwagon. It is doubtful if this group would have made the move without some type of incentive to prime the pump. A year from now — 2014 — the only group of providers that won’t be “electronic” will be the “laggards.” By the end of 2013, we will see an industry well past the tipping point and beyond the point of no return. The naysayers who predicted the failure of widespread EHR adoption will finally be silenced.

PHI Vulnerability: The hackers are coming. 2013 will see more instances of unauthorized intrusion into PHI. The only reason we haven’t seen more of this activity to date is that there is currently little perceived value in health information. Most hackers are going after banks or retailers to gain access to financial information like bank account numbers and credit card information. That is beginning to change as the completeness and richness of the data contained in health records is becoming increasingly attractive to identity thieves.

There is one thing I wish 2013 would bring, but I don’t think it will. There are many good and usable EHRs that do a credible job as reliable documentation tools for providers. But I haven’t seen adamant loyalty to an EHR like I’ve seen displayed by the fans of Apple products or Harley-Davidson motorcycles. I’m still waiting to hear a provider say, “You have got to try my EHR. You won’t believe it.” Maybe that wish will come true in 2014.