Many Hospitals May Not Meet MU Goals By 2015

John’s Note: I’d like to welcome accomplished healthcare journalist, Anne Zieger, to EMR and EHR. Anne has a long history in the healthcare IT space and I’m really looking forward to her contributions to EMR and EHR. I’ll still be posting on EMR and EHR as well and of course on EMR and HIPAA. However, I’m excited to bring another voice to EMR and EHR. Welcome Anne!

Nobody said that meeting Meaningful Use standards for EMRs would be easy, but if a new Accenture study is any indication, things are even worse than they seem out there.

Accenture argues that hospitals have a a staggering amount of work to do, and that few are ready. If they hope to get to MU compliance by 2015, hospitals going to have to think differently about change management, plan for a long, tough project, spend heavily and find qualified new personnel.

According to the study, less than 1 percent of health systems were mature EMR users in 2009.  What’s more troubling is that if Accenture is right, only half of U.S. hospitals will meet MU criteria by  2015. That could mean penalties of $3 million to $4 million per year for a 500-bed hospital, the consulting firm estimates.

Why are hospitals and health systems lagging behind?  They’re underestimating how hard the MU compliance job is — and getting blindsided what can be an 80% jump in costs during the transition.

My question:  are these massive transformation headaches and eye-popping costs are inevitable if you want to prove Meaningful Use of an EMR?  Or will hospitals that run lean IT and plan well enjoy a smoother ride?

About the author

Anne Zieger

Anne Zieger is a healthcare journalist who has written about the industry for 30 years. Her work has appeared in all of the leading healthcare industry publications, and she's served as editor in chief of several healthcare B2B sites.

   

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