How are EHRs and telehealth revolutionizing the health care industry?
The health care industry is currently experiencing a great deal of change. From the upcoming ICD-10 implementation date to the stage 3 meaningful use incentives not far off on the horizon, providers and hospitals have been making updates and alterations to their workflows and health IT systems to prepare.
Recent health care reforms, such as the development of accountable care organizations, now ask providers to implement efficient health IT that can effectively share patient data with other health professionals. There have been significant changes to patient care as providers adopt new electronic health records and other health IT systems.
Advanced EHR systems impact health care industry
According to EHR Intelligence, the president and CEO of BlueShield spoke at the World Health Care Congress + Exhibition about the impact that EHRs and additional forms of health IT are having on the health care sector. He noted that most of his company's processes are cloud-based, resulting in enhanced communication methods between providers and billers. This is essential, as many important conversations must take place between physicians and their billers, including topics like the progress of patients and sharing key medical data.
"If you take the example of a primary care physician, no matter how automated they are, they explain only a small portion of the medical dollar – usually 6 percent – so much of what happens is outside of the [patient's] view," Burrell said at the event. "With the kind of systems we provide – [the patient] would see the underlying information like lab results, what services were provided, which physician provided the services and what drugs [the patient] is on."
EHR systems also reduce the risk of security and privacy breaches with the latest encryptions and cybersecurity strategies for the systems that use the cloud. Security risks for patient health information stored electronically was once a major problem experienced by many providers. Cloud-based EHR systems and telehealth technology have decreased these risks, especially in rural locations.
For example, patients who were previously unable to physically visit a practice or hospital to talk to their doctors can now use remote teleconferencing. This greatly improves patient engagement, allowing them to become more involved in their health and stay up-to-date with their current condition and medications.
New initiatives result in enhanced care quality
The American Hospital Association released a report called "The Promise of Telehealth For Hospitals, Health Systems and Their Communities" that gives information on the increased adoption of EHR systems within the hospital setting.
The AHA reported that almost 52 percent of hospitals in 2013 implemented and used telehealth technology to enhance office workflows. Meanwhile, 74 percent of consumers stated that they would be interested in using telehealth services, such as patient-physician messaging through patient portals.
For initiatives like accountable care organizations, advanced EHR technology has a major role in ensuring the smooth and effective communication between various health care professionals. The industry has begun to place a great deal of its focus on improving health information exchange, as this is an effective way to improve quality of care.
The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services plans on starting a new initiative with the goal of developing a new generation of ACOs.
"This ACO model responds to stakeholder requests for the next stage of the ACO model that enables greater engagement of beneficiaries, a more predictable, prospective financial model and the flexibility to utilize additional tools to coordinate care for beneficiaries," Patrick Conway, deputy administrator for innovation and quality and chief medical officer for the CMS, said in a public statement.
If this project is successful, it will change both care delivery within the ACO model as well as its current payment standards. Similarly, if more physicians continue to adopt advanced health IT, the health care sector will continue to improve patient outcomes and care quality.
