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2014: Health technology becomes reality

December 05, 2013
Lauren Fifield
From the December 2013 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

By Lauren Fifield

Across the spectrum of policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, and everyday Americans, all eyes are on health care. And for most, the big question is whether the recent onslaught of technology and policy initiatives will lead to meaningful, and much needed, change. While much has happened in 2013 to affect health care delivery, this year serves as a warm-up to 2014, a year during which we’ll see even bigger shifts. From the implementation of ICD-10 to new Meaningful Use requirements to the expansion of accountable care and other value-based payment models, this year’s trends will be more fully realized and their impact will be amplified within the shifting EHR market.

While the coming year is likely to bring disruption in key sectors of the health care economy, this disruption is also poised to yield big gains in efficiency and effectiveness among providers and health technology vendors alike.

Winners
Whatever happens in the broader health policy context, there is an unstoppable trend towards greater EHR adoption that will continue to grow as providers face Meaningful Use penalties if they do not participate in 2014 and new payment models that increasingly rely on measurement and reporting by technology. Accountable Care Organizations and other models of value-based care require the effective use of electronic health record technology — without it, outcomes-based reporting and care improvement is burdensome and inaccurate. Between the positive incentives of new payment models and the negative pressure of Meaningful Use, EHR adoption is poised to grow significantly in the next year.

The implementation of ICD-10 presents a whole new reason for providers to adopt effective EHR solutions. While often thought of as a billing issue, advanced and cloud-based EHR solutions will offer providers tools that allow them to more easily transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 by integrating translation tools into their clinical workflow and connecting to billing solutions for efficient transfer of data for reimbursement. These kinds of tools will greatly reduce the burden on providers who are anxious about the impact that ICD-10 will have on their workflow.

Losers
EHR dissatisfaction among providers is as high as it’s ever been, especially as Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements begins to underscore the lack of viability among many EHR vendors. Among the more than 900 EHRs certified for Meaningful Use Stage 1, only 72 complete EHRs have been certified for Stage 2 so far. One in three practices are already dissatisfied with their existing EHR, half of whom plan to switch in the next year.

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