According to the report, some of the issues that hospitals face include finding capital for upfront IT investments, slow-to-receive reimbursements, minimal IT staff onsite and infrastructure that does not support expansion in electronic health records.
In order to better prepare to meet meaningful use requirements, Stoltenberg Consulting emphasizes the importance for rural and community hospitals to prioritize what they need and focus on only key issues. Here are some suggestions from the report:
• Hospitals should put aside differences and stay in contact with each other to facilitate information transfer.
• Hospitals should seek out experts in the industry who have experience implementing the required systems.
• Leadership is critical — the CEO, CFO and hospital board need to be involved.
• Develop physician relationships in a coordinated manner moving forward.
• Hospitals need to implement strong foundations to deliver on all care requirements.
• Hospitals as well as IT teams should reach out to develop stronger relationships with physicians and clinical staff.
More Articles on Meeting Meaningful Use Requirements:
CMS Aims to Use EHRs to Align Meaningful Use, Hospital Inpatient Quality Data Reporting
ONC: Ohio, Kentucky & Maine Are Examples of Successful Meaningful Use
Patient Education, Engagement and Interactivity Tools Help Hospitals Achieve Stage 2 Meaningful Use Compliance
