Healthcare Execs Credit IT With Improving Care

Healthcare executives overwhelmingly see health IT as having a positive impact on their organizations, with 88 percent indicating that the technology is helping them provide better quality of care.

That’s among the findings of a recent online poll of 164 healthcare executives at organizations with revenue between $25 million and $1 billion that was conducted by Harris on behalf of financial holding company CIT Group Inc.

As the industry transitions to pay-for-value payment models in which reimbursement is based on patient outcomes, 72 percent of executives also believe that they are “on track” when it comes to determining how to best measure outcomes, with near unanimity that technology, data and quality of care will all play a critical and increasing role in that measurement.

When it comes to health IT investment, 70 percent of healthcare executives said their organizations have switched to an electronic health record system. And among those who have an EHR, 56 percent of executives said that they have invested about what they anticipated for their system compared to original cost and budget expectations.

“In general, the transition to an EHR system has been smooth and on track financially, and any obstacles with implementation have been relatively uncommon, primarily involving personnel (like convenience, training or ease),” states the report.

However, interoperability and the ability to communicate outside of their respective networks remains a work in progress, according to the poll. Most executives with currently limited communication indicated that they would like to address the problem, with 70 percent considering making a greater investment in IT investment so that their EHR can communicate with providers within and outside their network.

At the same time, among those executives who have an EHR system that communicates with other organizations, 67 percent were at least somewhat concerned about the security of the health information being exchanged.

And, as their organizations move to patient-centered healthcare, while 80 percent of surveyed executives agreed that consumers should be using technology to monitor their healthcare needs, 88 percent cite security as a clear concern that must be addressed.

Information Management: http://bit.ly/1qmQ9VR