While the meaningful use rules for the adoption of electronic health records is playing a key role in making sure that providers across the country are using the technology to its fullest, some commentators have also suggested that these rules may be the greatest challenge to health IT.
The meaningful use rules as laid out by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) provide a number of guidelines that dictate what healthcare providers must do to be eligible for the federal government's EHR incentives program. These rules are vital to making sure that organizations are using the technology to improve the quality of care.
However, these rules are, by design, challenging. They put a lot of pressure on healthcare providers to not only implement a major software system in a relatively short amount of time, but also change the way that they operate.
A recent survey of chief medical information officers, which was conducted by CMIO Magazine, found that a majority believe that this cultural shift will be the biggest obstacle in trying to meet the meaningful use rules.
More than half of the CMIOs surveyed said that getting all of their staff to use EHRs and get out of their old way of doing things will be a major challenge. This ranked above implementing an EHR system, achieving interoperability and training staff members in computerized physician order entry, the news source reports.
Despite the challenges, most CMIOs are confident about their organization's ability to meet meaningful use standards. A total of 71 percent of those surveyed said that their office would be ready to meet meaningful use by 2012.
While the ONC made the meaningful use stringent, they are not leaving providers to fend for themselves as they seek to meet the requirements. Officials have instituted a number of programs designed to give doctors the tools they need to adopt an EHR system and meet the government's guidelines.
Most recently, the office announced a competition for programs to design solutions to some of the more pressing challenges to attaining meaningful use. A series of competitions will ensue to stimulate development.
ONC officials expect to competitions for solutions to challenges in areas of health information exchange, decision support, system usability and safety and analytical tool development.
The tools that result from these competitions may help providers across the country in their pursuit of meaningful use.