EHR Attestations Revisited

About a year ago, I posted a visualization of EMR/EHR attestation numbers from data provided by CMS and the ONC. Almost 16 months later, the attestation landscape hasn’t changed very much. From a geographical perspective, highly populated states continue to have the highest overall percentage attesting organizations (EPs and hospitals). However, keep in mind that these numbers are not adjusted for population size or number of total practices/hospitals per state. The maps below simply portray the yearly proportions of attestations coming from each state (so for each year, we would expect 100% total when adding up all states).

Trends in State Attestation (interactive)

Overall (2011-June 2013), California-based EPs and hospitals have sent in the most number of attestations at 6.83% of the entire set, followed by Florida and Texas at 5.59% and 5.55%. Of the continental states, Alaska, Wyoming and Vermont rank lowest at 0.07%, 0.11% and 0.17% respectively. A notable mention goes to Utah that saw a significant increase in successful attestations, going from 1.36% of total 2012 attestations to 7.77% of total 2013 attestations. Continue reading…

PHRs: If You Build It, They Will Come

The termination of Google Health has stirred up the PHR/PHP community, making Personal Health Record companies around the world question the viability of a product that not even the tech-magnate Google was able to validate. Some experts and tech-savvy writers blamed the lack of social interaction, a lack in provider interest and, lets face it, a lack in consumer interest. Additionally, Google Health took an over-simplified approach to health records. All you could do is store data digitally, without the ability to analyze and interpret. So, in a market where the concept hasn’t specifically been widely validated, does it make sense to take a risk and build PHR/PHP systems with the assumption that users will eventually flock to the service? I choose yes, and below I try to explain why PHR vendors will in an ever-changing market.  Continue reading…

The Ten Commandments of EHR Implementation

The other day, I wrote an article giving 7 steps to follow when searching for and implementing an EHR into your practice. Today, I return with The Ten Commandments of EHR Implementation. These commandments should be taken as commitments that you are making to your practice, your staff, and yourself. Keep these in the back of your head as you go through the process of putting your EHR to work! Continue reading…

Is a Universal Health Record (UHR) Possible?

With the rise of Electronic Health Record (EHR) vendors comes the increased availability of Personal Health Records (PHRs) and patient portals. If Meaningful Use continues erring on the patient side (as it has in Stage II), by the end of it all (hopefully 2021), every person in the United States should at least have the option to register for a patient portal with their provider. The hope for patient portals is strong and the dream is big. ePatients from around the nation tout PHRs and patient portals that are fully integrated with services like WebMD, Medline+ and the like. In this instance, information between systems needs to be free-flowing and multi-directional. Yet with so many health IT vendors out there (EHR vendors, PHR vendors, HIE vendors, health insurance exchanges, community information exchanges… and the list goes on), can a universal health record ever be attained? Continue reading…

The Art of EHR Implementation

While each EHR is different in terms of workflow, training, and usage, there are certain steps one can take in order to ensure a successful and smooth transition from paper charts to digital. From my experience working in HealthIT, here are 7 steps I recommend taking when selecting AND implementing an EHR into your practice. This is also the part where I disclose that I do work for an EHR vendor (Mitochon Systems). Continue reading…