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Provider Support and Electronic Exchange Among Factors
Critical to Successful Integration of Information Technology Into Health Care Delivery
Contact: Jennifer de Vallance, (202) 484-4692
WASHINGTON, DC—March 5, 2012—In the March issue of Health Affairs, Marsha Gold, a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research, and co-authors examine factors influencing the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology and identify outstanding challenges to the long-term success of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Gold and colleagues from Mathematica and the Urban Institute who contributed to the article find that provider and patient support—as well as confidence that the technological capacity for the exchange of health information will evolve among diverse providers and geographic locales—are essential to achieving HITECH’s goals.
When it comes to adoption of electronic health records, the authors find that five factors strongly influence provider support:
- A strong business case that initial investments will be offset and worthwhile
- Operational feasibility and ease of integration into current systems and capabilities
- Congruence with professional norms and evolving standards of care, including standards relevant to privacy and data security
- Personal considerations such as medical specialty how long a provider expects to continue practicing, and attitudes toward change and technology
- Perceived long-term strategic importance and the realization that change is inevitable
In terms of information exchange, the article finds that provider participation and patient support are important factors in achieving goals, but the ability to achieve a “tipping point” among these key stakeholders is largely outside of HITECH’s legislative purview. Other factors noted to be key drivers of health information exchange are national standards to support the ability to easily exchange data regardless of the provider, setting, or source; privacy and security protection; an infrastructure that supports the flow of data across providers, systems, and locations; and better access to technologies and systems that support information exchange.
Gold and her colleagues conclude that despite early indications that HITECH has helped to expand both the use of electronic health records and practices that meet the initial federal standards for the meaningful use of health information technology, the ability to fulfill the goals behind the legislation depends heavily on sustaining stakeholder and policy maker support. Such support is likely to be contingent on demonstrated progress in consistently increasing provider adoption of electronic health records; improved data flow among providers, patients, and geographic areas; and positive impacts on health and other outcomes, particularly in communities with the most robust systems.
Gold said, “HITECH is an ambitious and important national initiative whose success and ultimate impact will be driven by many forces, some of which are outside the control of the act. Experience in other industries shows that transformations on this scale take time. Evidence that current investments are paying off is critical to maintain the stakeholder support that’s needed to reach the goals set forth for reform and allow health IT to contribute to overall health care reform.”
About Mathematica: Mathematica Policy Research seeks to improve public well-being by conducting studies and assisting clients with program evaluation and policy research, survey design and data collection, research assessment and interpretation and program performance/data management. Its clients include foundations, federal and state governments and private-sector and international organizations. The employee-owned company, with offices in Princeton, NJ; Ann Arbor, MI; Cambridge, MA; Chicago, IL; Oakland, CA; and Washington, DC; has conducted some of the most important studies of health care, nutrition, education, international, disability, family support, employment, and early childhood policies and programs.