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Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
By Jack Beaudoin
When then-President George W. Bush called for “computerizing health records” in 2004, only one in 10 U.S. hospitals had an electronic health record. Ten years later, thanks in large part to the HITECH Act, the EHR adoption rate had risen to 95 percent. Yet despite the near tenfold increase in adoption rates, the original goals of EHR implementation – “to avoid medical errors, reduce cost and improve care” – remain stubbornly out of reach.
How did this happen? A recent study published in Health Affairs suggested that by rewarding minimal information-sharing between providers rather than ensuring data integration, government incentives put the cart before the horse.
“Progress is focused on moving information between hospitals,” the study’s authors concluded, and “not on ensuring usability of information in clinical decisions.” Read more
Keywords #healthit
Published at HealthcareITNews.com
Healthcare IT News was founded in 2003 by Neil Rouda and Jack Beaudoin. Today, it is the industry’s authoritative source covering the people, policy and technology driving next-generation healthcare in the U.S. and throughout the world. With hundreds of thousands of visitors each month, it is the place healthcare decision-makers go for timely, actionable news and analysis on the ever-changing health and healthcare landscape.
Leidos is a Fortune 500 science and technology solutions and services leader working to solve the world’s toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company’s 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $7.04 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016.
