News Feature | October 22, 2014

Less Than 10% Of Data Must Be Structured To Meet MU

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Open Data Roundtables

A study demonstrates Meaningful Use requirements create unnecessary and excessive data entry burdens.

As little as 7 percent of data contained in a representative patient chart is actually required to be structured by the Meaningful Use standards, according to a new study by WebChartMD . When lab data was included, that percent rose slightly to 9 percent.

The study, which examined de-identified orthopedic cardiovascular notes from 100 patients, obtained the samples form MTSamples.com. Although the study emphasized a greater pool of data needs to be examined in order to confirm and support these findings, it did state “the key take-away appears to be that as much as 91 to 93 percent of data typically captured within EHRs in a structured format (e.g. point-and-click templates and drop-down boxes) could instead be captured as unstructured data (e.g. dictation and transcription, or free-text entry) and still meet Meaningful Use requirements.”

This study has important implications, particularly as pressure has recently caused the CMS to extend the MU Hardship Exemption Deadline for 2014 attestation.

Meaningful Use guidelines require that the following data be structured to mean attestation:

  • demographics
  • vital signs
  • smoking status
  • problem list
  • medication list
  • medication allergies
  • lab tests/values
  • minimum of one family history entry

“This study is especially relevant for physicians frustrated by the negative impact EHRs can have on their patient interactions and their productivity,” said Mark Christensen, WebChartMD's CEO. “Physicians are often asked to capture more data in a structured format then Meaningful Use requires.”

Elisabeth Myers, Policy and Outreach Lead at the CMS, argues a large percentage of the routine patient data collected could be included into the patient EHR as unstructured rather than structured data without interfering with the intentions of the MU guidelines.

Christensen stated, “Too many physicians struggle with their EHRs when they simply don’t need to be. A greater use of dictation and transcription could represent a faster and easier means of documenting large portions of their patient encounters.”

According to one study, physicians in two California educational medical institutes spent an average of 16 more minutes inputting data using EHRs than they had before. The study also suggested that more research was necessary to identify EHR systems that were efficient and enhanced patient care and physician attention.