No End In Sight
In my opinion the Modern Healthcare website has never really leaned one way or another politically in the past. That is why I was amazed to see this:
On Feb. 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed legislation that created the federal government’s meaningful use electronic health records incentive program. Nearly 10 years and $35 billion in federal incentives later, hospitals and health systems are still struggling with EHRs, as new installations disrupt workflows and cost millions of dollars, eating into their bottom lines.
Boy, that was blind side shot. Ouch.
Then they listed these nuggets:
- Trinity Health reported a $107.8 million asset impairment charge for its fiscal 2018 related to its hospitals and continuing-care facilities switching to a single version of Epic EHR
- A newly live Epic EHR installation at the Mayo Clinic made up a chunk of the health system’s overall $1.5 billion investment in new technology.
- Partners HealthCare spent $1.2 billion on an Epic EHR, with installation beginning in 2015.
- Scripps Health ran into some EHR-related road bumps a few year ago, reporting weakened financial results as it readied an EHR conversion budgeted for 10 years to cost just over $300 million and expected to incur $360.5 million in operating costs.
I guess the question really is, was this all worth it? With little input from the physicians they forced to use this stuff the administrators are now reeling due to their inefficiencies. They work poorly. They were built for billing. They have added to the misery and burnout of doctors. Again, was it all worth it?
No.
Maybe the bigger question is why is there no blowback on the idiots who started this crap?
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EHR: Retiring doctors early since 2006. Better make sure you have been contributing to the retirement fund so one can get out when they hit medicare age. At least make sure your investment advisor knows that.
Again, the old litmus test: (Q:) CUI BONO (To whose benefit?)
(A:) The suits – who else. Elsewhere in the hospital and healthcare systems (inclusive of Docs, Nurses, Patients), nobody.
In the case of Partners, $1.3 Billion works out to at least $30K per user. There is no way one can justify that expenditure, no matter how you value the basic off-the-shelf software, software upgrades and system integration, implementation, training, etc. There is an enormous amount of extra money floating around in these deals. Where did it go…???
Its real simple. Corruption. The founder of Epic was Obamas earliest big donor. Her net worth went from 50 million to 7 billion
The first stage of phony revolution is TheHammer: the destruction of function and value. Not only wreckage, but also penury, is necessary.
Whether the wreckers are mobs with torches, or entitled snobs in designer suits, is irrelevant.
As Freddie Fender would say, “Wasted days and wasted nights”… and wasted money.
“the idiots who started this crap”
They’re far from idiots – these are exactly they wanted, and they’re laughing all the way to the back.
The idiots are the physicians who joyfully and mindlessly brought this Trojan Horse into the House of Medicine.
Need an edit function. Make that:
They’re far from idiots – these are exactly the results they wanted, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank.
“…why is there no blowback on the idiots who started this crap?”
Because they’re on to the next bullshit IT lilly pad in Silicon Valley: dHealth. Look closely, you’ll recognize the same old names from the ABIM and ABIM Foundation:
http://www.dhealthsummit.org/2018-speakers/
Aaarrgh christine cassel again. Anywhere she is the stank of corruption follows
That’s one scary line-up of crooks and charlatans.