Adoption of CIS in the United States, Essay Example

Clinical Information Systems (CIS) have grown in prominence with the increased role of technology in health care delivery. Indeed, as the government and payors require increased information to make treatment and reimbursement decisions, the number of CIS will continue to rise. At the current time, uptake of CIS is low and expected to grow over the future (HIMSS, 2013).

CIS is a functional ecosystem: it not only includes a patient’s information and doctor’s notes, it also has ancillary information regarding patient tests (PWC, 2012). For the purposes of this blog, CIS will be interpreted as EMR uptake in the United States post-2011. According to a recent study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, the overall uptake of EMR among US doctors’ has increased dramatically over the past three years: Although only 46 percent of doctors had an EMR in 2009, this number increased to 69 percent in 2012 (Commonwealth Fund, 2012). The uptake of EMR was greater among primary care doctors than specialists: the study estimated that roughly 60% of all primary doctors had EMRs, while only roughly 40% of specialists had EMRs (Commonwealth Fund). Finaly, EMR penetration was higher in urban areas when compared to rural areas.

Although there are numerous explanations for why the uptake among primary care professionals is higher, meaningful use payments, coupled with primary care homes (PCMH) is likely to be the main reason (PwC, 2013). As meaningful use payments continue over the next couple of years, and reimbursement levels for PCMHS increase, the adoption of EHR is expected to increase even further. The real challenge will be: making sure that a primary care provider who has EHRs is able to receive other data from specialists in order to make real-time decisions regarding care.

References:

Commonwealth Fund. (2012). EMR adoption rates. Available at: http://www.commonwealthfund.org

HMMS. (2013). EMR Adoption Rates. Available at: http://www.hmss.org

PwC. (2013). Uptake in CIS gaining. Available at: http:// www.pwc.com

PwC. (2013). Reasons for EMR adoption. Available at: http://www.pwc.com