Feds propose tougher look at whether EHRs work
Skip to main content
MDHC_Logotype_white
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • This Week's News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition
    • Biden unveils $1.9T plan to stem virus and steady economy
      HHS removes some requirements for opioid treatment prescribing
      Verma: CMS tried to ‘infuse' free-market competition across healthcare during Trump era
      CMS finalizes rule to revamp ACA exchanges
    • Biden unveils $1.9T plan to stem virus and steady economy
      Nursing home staff COVID-19 vaccination: A work in progress
      California hospitals prepare ethical protocol to prioritize lifesaving care
      Expanded vaccine rollout in U.S. spawns a new set of problems
    • Trenda Ray
      Q&A: Arkansas nursing leader looking for creative staffing solutions as COVID cases surge
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      Cook Lydia 4x6_i.jpg
      Northeast Ohio health systems increase community benefit values in 2019
      Vaccine rollout hits snag as health workers balk at shots
    • COVID-19 still a big uncertainty for insurers in 2021
      Health insurers' outlook boosted after Dems' Georgia win
      humana_i.jpg
      Humana supports Ohio not-for-profits with $500,000
      BlueCrossBlueShieldSign-main_i_i_i.jpg
      Michigan Blues to change pharmacy benefit manager from Express Scripts to OptumRx
    • Verma: CMS tried to ‘infuse' free-market competition across healthcare during Trump era
      CMS axes MFAR rule for good
      MedPAC votes to boost hospital payments, freeze or cut other providers
    • Operation Warp Speed to bump up McKesson's stock price
      Reporter's notebook: J.P. Morgan's 2021 health conference
      Hospitals, nursing homes get more time to file cost reports
      Hospitals' 2020 fundraising on pace to top 2019
    • 5 things to know about Google's $2.1B Fitbit acquisition
      Providence bets on machine-learning, consolidating data centers
      Mental health treatment was most common telehealth service during COVID
      Broad, Verily take Terra bioinformatics platform to Microsoft Azure cloud
    • Chance of COVID-19 triage care looms over Arizona hospitals
      U.S. ramps up vaccinations to get doses to more Americans
      367146427.jpg
      Should businesses mandate that staff get the COVID vaccine?
      A provider wearing a mask putting on surgical gloves.
      And the Shkreli Awards go to …
    • Tower Health's finance chief resigning after years of steep losses
      AHRQ director Gopal Khanna resigns in response to Capitol riot
      Brigham president stepping down after Moderna controversy
      Meghan Joyce
      Oscar COO Meghan Joyce describes her management approach
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • InDepth Special Reports
    • Innovations
    • The Affordable Care Act after 10 years
    • New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      doctor with patient
      COVID-19 treatment protocol developed in the field helps patients recover
      Rachel Wyatt
      Project to curb pressure injuries in hospitals shows promise
      Yale New Haven's COVID-19 nurse-staffing model has long-term benefits
    • Dr. James Hildreth
      How medical education can help fight racism
      Modern Healthcare InDepth: Breaking the bias that impedes better healthcare
      Videos: Healthcare industry executives describe their encounters with racism
      Michellene Davis
      Healthcare leadership lacks the racial diversity needed to reduce health disparities
      Quotes from rebadged employees
      Outsourcing IT, revenue cycle takes toll on internal culture
    • A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
      self service station
      COVID-19 pushes patient expectations toward self-service
      Targeting high-risk cancer patients with genetics
      A nurse holds up a phone with a message to a family member saying surgery has started.
      Texting, tablets help hospitals keep family updated on patient care
  • Transformation
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Highmark Health inks six-year cloud, tech deal with Google
      Study: 1 in 5 patients report discrimination when getting healthcare
      HHS proposes changing HIPAA privacy rules
      Android health records app launches at 230 health systems
    • California hospitals prepare ethical protocol to prioritize lifesaving care
      Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway disband Haven
      Digital pathways poised to reshape healthcare continuum in 2021
      Healthcare was the hardest hit by supply shortages across all U.S. industries
    • A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
      New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      How hospitals are building on COVID-19 telehealth momentum
      Researchers: Hospital price variation exacerbates health inequities
    • MedPAC votes to boost hospital payments, freeze or cut other providers
      Most Next Gen ACOs achieved bonuses in 2019
      Congress recalibrates Medicare Physician Fee Schedule after lobbying
      CMS approves rule to encourage value-based drug pricing
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
    • Health Systems Financials
      Executive Compensation
      Physician Compensation
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
    • Wellstar CEO calls adapting for the pandemic her bold move
      Howard P. Kern
      Recognizing the value of telehealth in its infancy
      Dr. Stephen Markovich
      A bold move helped take him from family doctor to OhioHealth CEO
      Dr. Bruce Siegel
      Why taking a hospital not-for-profit was Dr. Bruce Siegel’s boldest move
    • Barry Ostrowsky
      Ending racism is a journey taken together; the starting point must be now
      Laura Lee Hall and Gary Puckrein
      Increased flu vaccination has never been more important for communities of color
      John Daniels Jr.
      Health equity: Making the journey from buzzword to reality
      Mark C. Clement and David Cook
      We all need to 'do something' to fight inequities and get healthcare right, for every patient, every time
    • Healing healthcare: some ideas for triage by the new Congress, administration
      Dr. Sachin H. Jain
      Medicare for All? The better route to universal coverage would be Medicare Advantage for All
      Connectivity: a social determinant of health that can exacerbate all the others
      Taking my shot at building trust
    • Letters: Eliminating bias in healthcare needs to be ‘deliberate and organic’
      Letters: Maybe dropping out of ACOs is a good thing for patients
      Letters: White House and Congress share blame for lack of national COVID strategy
      Letters: VA making strides to improve state veterans home inspections
    • Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      How blockchain could ease frustration with the payment process
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Three steps to better data-sharing for payer and provider CIOs
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Reduce total cost of care: 6 reasons why providers and payers should tackle the challenge together
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Why CIOs went from back-office operators to mission-critical innovators
  • Awards
    • Award Programs
    • Nominate
    • Previous Award Programs
    • Other Award Programs
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare Logo for Navigation
      Nominations Open - Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      Nominations Open - Health Care Hall of Fame
      Nominations Open - 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders
    • Top 25 Women Leaders
    • Excellence in Nursing Awards
    • Design Awards
    • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
    • 100 Top Hospitals
    • ACHE Awards
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Webinars
    • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Healthcare Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Workplace of the Future Conference
    • Strategic Marketing Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala (2022)
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Carter Dredge
      Next Up Podcast: Ready, set, innovate! Innovation and disruption in healthcare
      Next Up Podcast: COVID-19, social determinants highlight health inequities — what next?
      Ceci Connolly
      Next Up Podcast: How to navigate the murky post-election waters
      Next Up Podcast: Saving Rural Health
    • An older man wearing a mask receiving a vaccine.
      Beyond the Byline: Verifying information on the chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout
      doctor burnout
      Beyond the Byline: How healthcare supply chain struggles contribute to employee burnout
      Beyond the Byline: Covering race and diversity in the healthcare industry
      Beyond the Byline: How telehealth utilization has impacted investor-owned company earnings
    • Leading intention promote diversity and inclusion
      Introducing Healthcare Insider Podcast
    • The Check Up: Trenda Ray
      The Check Up: Trenda Ray of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      The Check Up: Dr. Kenneth Davis
      The Check Up: Dr. Kenneth Davis of Mount Sinai Health System
      The Check Up: Dr. Thomas McGinn
      The Check Up: Dr. Thomas McGinn of CommonSpirit Health
      The Check Up: Mark Ganz
      The Check Up: Mark Ganz of Cambia Health Solutions
    • Video: Ivana Naeymi Rad of Intelligent Medical Objects
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Information Technology
March 28, 2015 01:00 AM

Feds propose tougher look at whether EHRs work

Darius Tahir
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    “This will create another level of accountability. We're all challenged by lack of functionality to hit these (meaningful-use) measures. It's because these systems are not truly ready.” Cletis Earle Chief information officer St. Luke's Cornwall

    The federal health information technology coordinator's proposed certification rule signals that the agency wants to better ensure that electronic health-record systems perform as promised.

    Last week, HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT proposed a two-pronged approach to achieve that goal. It will increase transparency for EHR systems marketed to providers and encourage EHR certifying bodies to raise their minimum standards.

    “This will create another level of accountability,” said Cletis Earle, chief information officer at St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital, Newburgh, N.Y. “We're all challenged by lack of functionality to hit these (meaningful-use) measures,” he said. “It's because these systems are not truly ready.”

    Providers say it's common for them to purchase a “complete” EHR, certified as complying with the meaningful-use program, only to find that they have to pay extra to achieve the program's goals.

    The certification program is supposed to give clients assurance that what they're buying can perform the tasks required by the federal meaningful-use program. Certifying groups inspect EHRs in a controlled environment, then check to see if they work in the field.

    But some buyers say the certified EHRs often do not perform as promised, and action is needed to ensure that they do. Earle said that when the second stage of the meaningful-use incentive program rolled out, St. Luke's Cornwall was using Meditech Magic, version 5.66. According to the government's EHR list, the program is certified for the “view, download and transmit” function, which allows patients to access their data and transport it elsewhere.

    Earle said, however, that the software didn't actually have that capability. So he either had to buy a module from Meditech or a third party, or build one. Earle chose to buy one, which cost “tens of thousands of dollars.” Meditech did not respond to a request for comment.

    MH Takeaways

    The national health IT coordinator wants tougher certification requirements and for vendors to disclose the cost of making an EHR system perform as certified.

    “Time and time again, I'm going back to my vendors, and saying, 'Look, these are the regulatory requirements, and you're not necessarily making sure we fit those initiatives,' ” he said.

    Charles Christian, CIO of St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga., said he's had similar experiences with his hospital's EHR and direct messaging using the C-CDA standard, which allows hospitals to exchange patient data. His vendor attempted to sell the capability as an extra, despite claiming the EHR was complete. “After expressing my disappointment that they would use this as a revenue opportunity, I was successful in getting the services turned on without additional costs,” he said.

    Dr. Farzad Mostashari, who formerly headed the ONC and now is CEO of the health IT firm Aledade, said such problems likely spurred the ONC to act. “I don't think that every vendor did this, or every certification requirement was treated this way,” he said. “But enough vendors are doing it in enough certification criteria.”

    To win certification, the ONC now wants EHR vendors to disclose more information about the use of their systems, including how much it would cost to make the EHR perform as certified. The other prong of the agency's proposal is to increase surveillance requirements. The agency hopes that higher minimum requirements will stimulate more thorough surveillance by certifying bodies. The intent is for the certifying bodies to investigate whether the EHR systems are performing in the field as they do in the lab.

    That will be accomplished through two methods: reactive surveillance, in which a certifying body responds to complaints from customers in the field; and randomized surveillance, in which a certifying body proactively inspects EHRs used by clinicians.

    With randomized surveillance, the agency proposes that each certifying body must select 10% of its certified products per year to inspect for compliance.

    Strengthening the inspection requirements is critical, Mostashari said. Up to now, he said, vendors “develop the functionality in order to pass the (certification) test. They don't bother reworking the whole product to make that function or feature a core part of their production environment.”

    But Earle worries that the auditors testing the systems might not be up to the job, saying they need to have clinical experience to understand why certain functionalities might fail.

    As a part of the proposed rule, the ONC is considering how to go about stripping an EHR's certification. But decertifying a product means it cannot be used to attest for meaningful use—which affects all the providers using that product, Mostashari warned. They might have to switch systems or hope the product can regain certification. “There has to be a lot of thought given to the process, to the due process, and how to minimize the potential impact to the innocent bystanders,” he said.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Allscripts closes $1.3 billion sale of its care coordination business
    Allscripts closes $1.3 billion sale of its care coordination business
    Traffic crashes Indiana COVID vaccine sign-up site
    Traffic crashes Indiana COVID vaccine sign-up site
    Sponsored Content
    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up for free enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today

    The weekly magazine, websites, research and databases provide a powerful and all-encompassing industry presence. We help you make informed business decisions and lead your organizations to success.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Instagram

    Stay Connected

    Join the conversation with Modern Healthcare through our social media pages

    MDHC_Logotype_white
    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • This Week's News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • InDepth Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Transformation
      • Patients
      • Operations
      • Care Delivery
      • Payment
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Award Programs
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders
        • Top 25 Women Leaders
      • Nominate
      • Previous Award Programs
        • Excellence in Nursing Awards
        • Design Awards
        • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
      • Other Award Programs
        • 100 Top Hospitals
        • ACHE Awards
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Healthcare Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Workplace of the Future Conference
        • Strategic Marketing Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala (2022)
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Webinars
      • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing