Aggressive Meaningful Use
The American College of Physicians (ACP) is warning that aggressive timeline combined with overly ambitious objectives may unnecessarily limit the success of the entire Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Program. It recommends that requirements become less prescriptive to allow eligible professionals of all specialties to be creative in applying the technology to the unique characteristics of their practice, specialty, and patient population. Why is it doing this? Many reasons (and it is about time, by the way) but here is one example:
ACP urges a focus on activities that have a true measurable outcome on quality, safety and value of care, rather than a system that creates an unnecessary administrative burden that does not directly impact real practice improvement.
Here is a little secret. To define “a true measurable outcome on quality, safety and value of care” would be a impossible. That is why the system can never work.
ACP runs after a train already pulling out of the station, when they should have listened to their members 5 years ago. Pathetic.
“Meaningful” to whom? That was always the joke.
Yes, indeed.
A brief illustration from my own practice may be appropriate:
Meaningless Use requires that a certain proportion of your prescriptions be sent electronically.
No skin off my nose – I’m lazy, and it’s easier for me to push a button than lift a pen, so I’m one of the “star performers” in that category, with something like 95% electronic.
BUT, I have just discovered a web site (GoodRx dot com), which will print out coupons for patients to get medicines cheaper (like Augmentin from W•llM•rt for $20 instead of $80), SO, since we see a lot of uninsured patients, I am now printing out a lot more prescriptions, along with the price page from that web site, so that patients can go to the place that’s both cheapest and most convenient for them.
So, I am moving away from Meaningless Use standards in order to provide better care, and, depending on factors beyond my control (proportion of insured patients, proportion of patients needing more expensive meds, etc.) I may well be dinged for doing it.
Utter stupidity.