In March, the Washington Post published an article that provided a general overview of the challenges associated with EHR adoption. (You can read the article here.) The piece included a number of quotes from physicians in the region who expressed skepticism in the value of EHRs or programs aimed at facilitating and measuring their use. CRISP, along with other RECs in the Post's area of distribution, drafted the following response, which the newspaper declined to publish:
To the editors:
We applaud the Post for drawing attention to this moment of great change in opportunity in our nation’s healthcare system (“Despite incentives, doctors are wary about switching to electronic health records,” March 14). It is true that the process of transitioning from a practice to electronic health records can seem daunting to many clinicians. However, few Americans would argue that our current, paper-based system—where duplicative tests and unnecessary procedures are common, and critical information is often unavailable at the point of care—should be left as it is.
In fact, studies show that one in seven hospitalizations results from missing clinical information. Ready access to a comprehensive patient record allows the physician to effectively coordinate care and communicate with patients. Physicians using fully functional EHRs have reported the following benefits:
- Six months after EHR implementation, 72.4% reported being in agreement on treatment goals and plans with other involved clinicians, compared to 56% of clinicians without EHRs.
- 72% reported that EHRs positively affected communication with patients.
- Gradual EHR implementation resulted in maintaining positive patient-physician relationships and fostering the sharing of medical information.
Tens of thousands of physicians across the country, including those practicing in rural and medically underserved areas, have successfully made the transition to EHRs since the passage of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, which, as the Post notes, includes billions of dollars in incentives for the medical community to offset the cost of doing so.
Further, we see the culture among physicians shifting, as their colleagues share the positive effects of an electronic practice. The 2009 Future Physicians of America survey found that 90% of medical students consider it important or very important to have an EHR where they choose to practice.
Physicians have access to a host of resources to assist with the selection and implementation of an EHR. The Recovery Act established 62 regional extension centers for health information technology across the country, modeled after the cooperative extension system sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that helped to modernize farming practices in the 20th century. The extension centers are independent, non-profit organizations providing technical assistance, guidance, and information on best practices to support and accelerate providers’ efforts to become meaningful users of certified EHR technology. Each center is staffed by a team of experienced local health information technology (HIT) professionals with intimate knowledge of the local medical community. More than 50,000 primary care providers already have enrolled to work with their local regional extension center for assistance with becoming a meaningful user of EHRs.
As representatives of the metro DC area’s three regional extension centers for health IT, we would welcome the opportunity to offer guidance to any physician considering the transition to electronic records.
Daniel Wilt
Program Director, Chesapeake Regional Information System for Our Patients/Maryland Regional Extension Center
Letha Fisher, MSN, RN, CHC
Director, Virginia HIT Regional Extension Center
Donna Ramos-Johnson
Chief of Technology Operations, eHealthDC/District of Columbia Regional Extension Center
Michael Williams
Chief of Healthcare Operations, eHealthDC/District of Columbia Regional Extension Center
The authors represent the health information technology regional extension centers for Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.