2 Of 5 Providers Indifferent Or Dissatisfied With Their EHR

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

A survey from Premier finds providers aren’t exactly thrilled about their EHR technology.

A recent survey from Premier, the 2014 Economic Outlook C-suite survey, has found many providers are dissatisfied with their current EHR technology. Forty-one percent of the providers surveyed reported feeling either indifferent or dissatisfied with their current systems.

“Hospitals are making necessary investments in infrastructure to meet the demands of this new generation of healthcare,” said Michael J. Alkire, chief operating officer of Premier in a press release. “These investments are targeting HIT to provide more connected and efficient patient care, and modern clinical equipment that can deliver improved outcomes.

Close to half (49 percent) of providers plan to make large health IT investments in the next year. The most common areas of investment were electronic health records (EHRs), advanced data analytics, and telecommunications.

“What we are hearing increasingly from healthcare leaders is dissatisfaction with their existing EHR systems, often citing cost and difficulty of use,” continued Alkire. “Providers need a solution that integrates clinical, financial and operational data across their hospitals and health systems; the majority of EHR systems cannot do that.”

Additionally, the survey found labor is considered the biggest driver of healthcare costs; 42 percent of providers rated it the top cost. “With sequestration, Affordable Care Act changes and other legislation, hospitals have been incurring billions of dollars in payment cuts with much more to come,” said Premier President of Supply Chain Services Durral R. Gilbert. “For many providers, barely breaking even under Medicare is equivalent to success these days. To offset these cuts, some health systems have no other choice than to explore staff reductions.”