While few doubt that the health IT incentive program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will result in rapid adoption of electronic health records, leading to improvements in quality and cost, some have expressed concern that the timetable for implementation could be difficult for some smaller practices to meet.
This is particularly true of community health centers. These providers generally offer care to underserved communities at affordable prices. Due to the fact that profits can be small to nonexistent, these locations generally have few resources to direct toward a major shift in the way they operate. Manpower and funds are in short supply, and some have said that it will be difficult to reinvent the way they operate within a year.
However, there are tremendous benefits for these organizations to transition to EHRs and studies have shown that the barriers to adoption may not be as great as some have perceived. Once community health clinics have completed the implementation of a health IT system, they may quickly begin realizing tremendous improvements in the way they operate.
For example, a recent study from the California HealthCare Foundation found that community health clinics may not only improve care and reduce costs by implementing health IT systems, but they may also be able to reach more patients.
The group surveyed three California-based organizations, the Open Door Community Health Center of Arcata, La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland and the Southside Coalition of Community Health Centers of Los Angeles. Each of these groups operates multiple health centers.
The study found that care was improved in a number of ways after implementing EHR systems. Each clinic saw wait times go down, patient satisfaction increased and the clinics were able to reach more patients.
Most of the clinics that took part in the survey said that planning was a key component of whether or not the transition to new technology was successful. However, if this step is taken carefully, it can be beneficial.
There are a number of resources available to help community health clinics accomplish this planning. For example, there is a network of Regional Extension Centers which are run by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT across the country that provide technical assistance and planning help to providers looking transition to EHRs.
One of these locations help Family Health Center of Worcester, Massachusetts implement a new system, according to CMIO Magazine. The community health clinic's vice president Lisa Levine said that despite some hiccups along the way, installing a practice management system followed by EHR system allowed the practice to simplify its operations.
"We have so many different payors that it was critical to do that," she told the news source. "The practice is divided into teams [of] physicians and support staff. We have some satellite clinics, we're about to finish up six school-based health centers. They go live in a couple of weeks, and that will get us fully electronic."
She added that the complexity of this operation could become difficult to manage without a system. However, she also said that the financial challenges associated with transitioning to EHRs could be very difficult for many community health clinics.
Indeed, this may be the greatest hurdle for these organizations to cross. Due to the fact that they primarily serve the uninsured and under insured, they tend to be short on cash. However, given the benefits that can come along with adoption of the technology, it may be a worthy investment.