Analysis of the Meaningful Use of EHRs, Essay Example

The goal of the meaningful use incentive program is to improve patient safety and quality of care by replacing paper documents with electronic health records (EHRs).  The federal government is rewarding clinicians and hospitals for implementing the meaningful use of EHRs.  Jha (2010) states that meaningful use of EHRs will reduce medical and prescription errors, improve patient compliance, allow patients access to their records, and allow better exchange between clinicians and hospitals.  According to Jha (2010) meaningful use must include electronic prescribing, the exchange of data among clinicians and hospitals, and automated reporting of quality performance.  However, many practitioners and hospitals were merely replacing paper documents for electronic records.  A major concern regarding the meaningful use program is that it would have the opposite effect and negatively impact the quality of care.  A study by Kern et al. (2014) measured the association between meaningful use and quality of care.  The authors found no difference in the care quality between physicians who met the requirements for Stage 1 meaningful use and those who did not.  However, the authors felt that the studied should be redone with a larger population sample and at a later date.

The three concepts of quality management are performance measurement, assessment, and improvement.  These processes help healthcare organizations achieve their goals in the implementation of meaningful use of EHRs.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2011), the “performance measurement is a process by which an organization monitors important aspects of its programs, systems, and processes.”  The assessment process assesses and manages goals, and ensures that the goals are met in an efficient manner.  Areas that require improvement will be identified and measures will be taken to ensure that the problems have been corrected.

References

Jha, A.K., (2010). Meaningful use of electronic health records: The road ahead. JAMA. 304. 1709-1710.

Kern, L.M., Edwards, A., Kaushal, R., & HITEC Investigators. (2014). The meaningful use of electronic health records and health care quality. American Journal of Medical Quality. 1-8. DOI: 10.1177/1062860614546547

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Health Resource and Services Administration. (2011). Performance management and measurement. http://www.hrsa.gov/quality/toolbox/508pdfs/performancemanagementandmeasurement.pdf