Although most hospitals that participated in the American Hospital Association’s 2011 “Most Wired Survey” are moving forward with implementation of clinical care and patient safety technology, they continue to be challenged by federal meaningful use criteria, Hospitals & Health Networks magazine reports.
Details of Survey
To determine the Most Wired list, published this month in Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, hospitals were evaluated on four factors:
The survey included additional requirements that corresponded to meaningful use criteria. Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
The survey was conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15. This year, 530 hospitals and health systems responded to the survey, representing about 24% of U.S. hospitals, or 1,388 facilities.
Key Survey Results
The list of Most Wired hospitals grew from 99 hospitals in 2010 to 154 organizations this year (Weinstock/Hoppszallern, Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, July 2011).
According to the results, hospitals generally reported strong advances in certain areas of health IT adoption.
Most Wired hospitals reported significant advances in computerized provider order entry.
According to the survey, hospitals generally reported strong advances in certain areas of health IT adoption. Most Wired hospitals reported strong advances in computerized provider order entry.
In addition, the survey found that:
Meaningful Use Still a Challenge
Achieving federal meaningful use criteria continues to be a challenge to all hospitals, including those on the Most Wired list.
For example, 51% of Most Wired hospitals still manually input CMS core measure data into an electronic file.
Meanwhile, only 70% of Most Wired hospitals have the capability to record a problem list of patients’ diagnoses. CMS requires documenting such information for 80% or more of emergency department or admitted patients (Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, July 2011).
Ameican Hospital Association President Weighs In
Commenting on the results, AHA President and CEO Richard Umbdenstock said, “Greater adoption of IT can bring important new tools to our efforts to improve the safety and quality of care in hospitals, and better coordinate care across settings.”
He added, “To promote further use of IT, [AHA is] aggressively working to remove regulatory barriers and provide clarity in areas such as the meaningful use criteria” (AHA News, 7/11).
Source: iHealthBeat
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