HIT Critical To Meet Federal Standards

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

Meeting current federal regulations would be impossible without the help of health technology, according to a study from IDC Health Insights.

IDC Health Insights surveyed nearly 100 high-ranking health IT executives and more than 500 hospital employees on their health it patterns. According to analysis from EHR Intelligence, initiatives from the federal government such as Meaningful Use (MU) and accountable care organizations (ACOs) are driving health IT adoption.

“The healthcare industry has historically invested less in technology than other industries, but government regulations incentivizing technology upgrades have spurred the next wave in information mobility for healthcare,” said Lynne Dunbrak, Research Vice President, Connected Health IT Strategies, IDC Health Insights in a press release. “The need to access the right data at a moment’s notice is even more critical in the healthcare industry when patient care is at stake. As hospitals realize the benefits to population health, meaningful use gains and accountable care, they are steadily making investments to improve their workflows and IT infrastructure for greater access to information.”

iHealth Beat notes other key findings reveal:

●       nearly 80 percent of respondents said they need information mobility and remote access to information to use core functionalities and information repositories

●       77 percent said they need information mobility to integrate data into various platforms and analyze the information

●       nearly 60 percent said using data for medical records is key to their business plan

“Hospitals have identified key challenges, including workflow inefficiencies, departmental silos and lack of access to mobile and cloud applications that could impede their information mobility goals,” explained Ricoh Americas Corporation, which commissioned the study. “Streamlined workflows and data communication can help ensure patient healthcare information, including document images, is easily and securely accessible to health practitioners when and where they need it – the core components of information mobility – which helps to enable the highest quality of care.”

The study does admit that there is room to grow, however. Case in point: only 9 percent of the over 600 respondents — when asked how mature their organization was when it comes to information mobility — identified as champions. Approximately 30 percent identified as candidates, beginners, and contenders.