Health Law

"Unrealistic expectations and unachievable timelines"

By William Maruca

Even the most technologically advanced health systems and physician organizations in the U.S. would struggle to meet the proposed standards for "meaningful use" of electronic medical records, according to a Jun 7, 2010 article in the New York Times.   Doctors and Hospitals Say Goals on Computerized Records Are Unrealistic. (registration required).

Some unlikely players are raising their objections to the standards, including Kaiser Permanente, the Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Intermountain Health Care.  Their concerns echo those rasied previously by the AMA, the AHA and a number of members of Congress. See Hey, CMS, not so fast!  Intermountain, praised by the administration for its EHR efforts to date, reports that it would be unable to meet 36 of the 48 proposed "all-or-nothing" standards.

In response to the concerns, Jonathan D. Blum, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was quoted as saying  'We want to strike a balance. We will provide flexibility for doctors and hospitals, but push them to elevate their performance. Final rules will be out in early summer.'

Full post as published by HIPAA Health Law & Technology on June 08, 2010 (boomark / email).