Solo physicians and small physician practices find it harder to remain financially viable as they work to choose, implement and learn to use electronic health records, according to a Government Health IT news report.
At a recent hearing of the House Small Business Committee's healthcare and technology subcommittee, Sasha Kramer, MD, shared her experiences with adopting EHR technology. After purchasing a system that cost more than $41,000, she was forced to purchase another $30,000 system after the original vendor was bought out. On top of those costs, she also saw fewer patients and her revenue suffered as a result.
While Dr. Kramer fully supports healthcare technology and its ability to improve healthcare, she recommended policymakers provide more financial support (on top of the initial incentive payments) for smaller healthcare providers and possibly push back meaningful use deadlines, according to the news report.
Andrew Slavitt, CEO of healthcare IT company OptumInsight, said the financial incentives for demonstrating meaningful use are not enough compensation for smaller healthcare providers, especially since they experience significant productivity losses as they adopt the technology, according to the report.
Read the news report about EHR costs.
Related Articles on EHRs:
Hospitals Developing Patient Portals for Better Access to Personal Health Information
Healthcare Providers That Don't E-Prescribe May See 1% Medicare Payment Reduction
CDC Seeks Vendor to Assist in Developing Requirements for Syndromic Surveillance
At a recent hearing of the House Small Business Committee's healthcare and technology subcommittee, Sasha Kramer, MD, shared her experiences with adopting EHR technology. After purchasing a system that cost more than $41,000, she was forced to purchase another $30,000 system after the original vendor was bought out. On top of those costs, she also saw fewer patients and her revenue suffered as a result.
While Dr. Kramer fully supports healthcare technology and its ability to improve healthcare, she recommended policymakers provide more financial support (on top of the initial incentive payments) for smaller healthcare providers and possibly push back meaningful use deadlines, according to the news report.
Andrew Slavitt, CEO of healthcare IT company OptumInsight, said the financial incentives for demonstrating meaningful use are not enough compensation for smaller healthcare providers, especially since they experience significant productivity losses as they adopt the technology, according to the report.
Read the news report about EHR costs.
Related Articles on EHRs:
Hospitals Developing Patient Portals for Better Access to Personal Health Information
Healthcare Providers That Don't E-Prescribe May See 1% Medicare Payment Reduction
CDC Seeks Vendor to Assist in Developing Requirements for Syndromic Surveillance