Dive Brief:
- As the concept and application of EHRs has evolved, the technology has strayed far from its original purpose of helping patients and under current implementations may actually cause more problems than it solves, according to a report by the Medical Informatics Committee of the American College of Physicians.
- The report is extremely critical of current EHR platforms, claiming that non-clinicians have placed needless requirements on the clinical documentation process for purposes other than direct care of the patient. "Although computers and EMRs can facilitate and even improve clinical documentation, their use can also add complexities; new challenges; and, in the eyes of some, an increase in inappropriate or even fraudulent documentation," the group says.
- The ACP criticized tech companies and regulatory bodies alike for loading down EHRs with requirements that have little to do with patient care. "Electronic health records should be leveraged for what they can do to improve care and documentation, including effectively displaying prior information that shows historical information in rich context; supporting critical thinking; enabling efficient and effective documentation; and supporting appropriate and secure sharing of useful and usable information with others, including patients, families, and caregivers," the report said. "These features are unlikely to be optimized as long as the format and content of clinical documentation are primarily based on coding and other regulatory requirements."
Dive Insight:
ACP is calling the entire EHR movement on the carpet, and rightfully so.
The association argues that technologists look at EHRs as a programming puzzle to be solved, while healthcare professionals look at EHRs as a way of reducing costs and streamlining the administration of a patient's healthcare plan—and that those two sides have yet to meet in the middle.
Enter the regulators, who want a say in how this transition takes place, as well as a role in creating incentives for providers to get on the digital train. Unfortunately, regulators are notoriously terrible at both tasks, leading many to believe the term "Meaningful Use" is actually a Latin phrase meaning "train wreck." Technologists who are unfamiliar with the necessities of patient care are stuck trying to translate the language of HIPAA, ONC, FDA and other stakeholders at the same time they are trying to address the concerns of practitioners.
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