Meaningful Use - The first step towards healthcare provider digitization
In the 19th century, the stethoscope was considered to be the most advanced tool that a doctor used to carry. Medicine has come a long way and in this century when the world is heading towards digitization, healthcare is on the front foot. Digitization in healthcare has made surgeries, once thought impossible, possible - enhancing and transforming care delivery.
Reducing paperwork is essential for providers. Thanks to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and meaningful use, paper records are phasing out. It has now become mandatory for providers to implement certified electronic medical records (EMR)/electronic health records (EHR) and use them effectively. These processes make meaningful use thefirst step towards digitization of provider systems.
To understand this concept better, let us look at the three stages of meaningful use and understand its meaning from a digitization perspective.
Stage 1 - Capture and share data: At this stage, providers capture basic patient information such as:
- Capturing vitals
- Entering lab results in EHR
- Send clinical summary to patients
- Public health and quality reporting
This digitally saved information can be helpful in:
- Regularly tracking and monitoring patient health in a seamless manner
- Easily sending data to public health agencies for tedious and time consuming calculations
Stage 2 - Advanced clinical processes: At this stage, providers need to focus on sharing captured information in the EMR for:
- Patient (personal health record) PHR access
- E-prescriptions for refills
- Health alerts
- Immunization information
This enables:
- Quick refills of medicines
- Improved quality of health
- Timely immunization and consolidated records
- Efficient service by providers
Stage 3 - Improved outcomes: This final stage is more focused on being proactive, as providers have access to comprehensive patient data. Using data captured during stage 1 and 2, providers can easily identify high-risk patients and automate real-time surveillance.
With more providers participating in the EHR incentive programs, patients will reap the benefits of improved outcomes.
Impact of digitization due to meaningful use:
Impact of meaningful use on patients | Impact of meaningful use on providers | Impact of meaningful use on public health |
| Electronic prescriptions– More than 190 million electronic prescriptions have been sent by EPs for their patients. | Clinical labs results –More than 458 million test results were entered into the EHR by 111,954 EPs. | Immunization registries data submission – Immunization registries received at least one test data submission from 69,474 Eps. |
| Patient reminders – More than 13 million patient reminders were sent for patients aged 65+ and less than five about preventive/follow-up care. | Medication reconciliation –Medication reconciliation was performed for over 40 million patient care transitions by 83,035 EPs. | Syndromic surveillance data submission – Public health agencies received at least one test data submission from 12,298 Eps. |
| Patient electronic access –More than 33 million patients received electronic access to their health information. | Transition of care summary – Over 4.3 million patient care transition summaries were generated by 24,827 EPs. |
Source: http://www.cms.gov/eHealth/List
Dr.Deepika a Dentist by profession, and an MBA in Healthcare IT has around 3 years of experience in Domain Knowledge and Healthcare IT sector. She is currently working as a Business analyst and part of Syntel’s Healthcare Provider Sub Vertical.
