Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Give meaningful use value for physicians

Matthew Mintz, MD
Tech
November 14, 2011
Share
Tweet
Share

Before I took over one of the classes that now teach at the medical school, I asked students why the value of that class was so low.  One of the reasons they gave was that it was so hard to do well in the class, and there were so many other things to study, students only put in enough effort to pass.  In other words, incentives are only good if they are both valued and attainable.

As this related to electronic medical records (EMRs), achieving meaningful use is not easy.  The technology for clinical decision support (a requirement) is not quite ready for prime time.  Nor is there an easy way to share parts of the EMR with patients.  In a study of almost 600 docs who had been using EMRs, most were confident that they would qualify for meaningful use and get bonuses for doing so.  However, the survey also found that the majority of these physicians would not meet some of the criteria.  Thus, though the financial incentive seems nice, the path to getting these incentive may be so unattainable that physicians won’t waste the effort or expense.

More importantly, some of the “stuff” that’s meaningful in meaningful use, may not have value for physicians. Policy makers that developed these criteria were understandably thinking on a population level (lowering blood sugar in a population of diabetics).  However, physicians are used to dealing with patients one on one.

A recent survey of EMR using physicians was done over at Software Advice regarding the advantages of using EMRs.  Granted 50 respondents may not accurately generalize to most physicians; however, some of the results are telling.  What do doctors like about EMRs? Greater accessibility of charts, easier to read notes, more accurate patient information, and improved coordination of care by having the ability to share data.

As a user of EMR’s for well over a decade, I would concur with these findings. EMR’s are far from perfect, but based on these advantages, I could never go back to paper.  What  “benefits” of EMR’s did doctors not see as readily? Improving preventative care, opportunity to participate in pay for performance, improving clinical decision making, and reducing errors/improving patient safety.

Thus, under the current plan to increase EMR use by physicians, the financial incentives may be too hard to achieve and the purported benefits may not be easily perceived.  This combination does not bode well for the adoption of EMRs by most physicians.  Instead, policy makers might want to consider a different approach.

First, rather than create a financial carrot that will be too difficult to achieve for most, use that money to reduce barriers to adopting EMRs in the first place.  Second, instead of focusing on the benefits important to policy makers, focus on benefits that are important to physicians, such as making our work easier and more productive.  This is important because EMR vendors design their products on what they believe will meet their customer’s needs.  The first EMR platforms focused on improvements in billing and coding to capture more revenue.  Now, vendors are focused on helping physicians achieve meaningful use.

If vendors focused on making a physicians work easier and more productive (and policy maker made it easier to adopt these tools), EMR adoption would be much greater than it is now.

Matthew Mintz is an internal medicine physician who blogs at Dr. Mintz’ Blog.

Submit a guest post and be heard on social media’s leading physician voice.

Prev

Can vaccine recommendations be based solely on individual and public health?

November 14, 2011 Kevin 1
…
Next

Medicine introduces us to loss early in life

November 14, 2011 Kevin 9
…

Tagged as: Health IT

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Can vaccine recommendations be based solely on individual and public health?
Next Post >
Medicine introduces us to loss early in life

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Matthew Mintz, MD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Primary care trends in the health reform era

    Matthew Mintz, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    IVIG for Alzerheimer’s: Cost is a barrier

    Matthew Mintz, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Is there a harm to not seeing drug reps?

    Matthew Mintz, MD

More in Tech

  • Why clinicians must lead health care tech innovation

    Kimberly Smith, RN
  • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

    Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    AI in health care is moving too fast for the human heart

    Tiffiny Black, DM, MPA, MBA
  • Why AI in health care needs the same scrutiny as chemotherapy

    Rafael Rolon Rivera, MD
  • The silent cost of choosing personalization over privacy in health care

    Dr. Giriraj Tosh Purohit
  • Why trust and simplicity matter more than buzzwords in hospital AI

    Rafael Rolon Rivera, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Could antibiotics beat heart disease where statins failed?

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why palliative care is more than just end-of-life support

      Dr. Vishal Parackal | Conditions
    • When life makes you depend on Depends

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Physician
    • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

      Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • How drug companies profit by inventing diseases

      Martha Rosenberg | Meds
    • How value-based care reshapes kidney disease management for better outcomes [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Imagining a career path beyond medicine and its impact

      Hunter Delmoe | Education
    • What is professional identity formation in medicine?

      Adrian Reynolds, PhD | Education
    • A step‑by‑step guide to crafting meaningful research questions

      Julian Gendreau, MD | Physician
    • When recurrent UTIs might actually be bladder cancer

      Fara Bellows, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 3 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Could antibiotics beat heart disease where statins failed?

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why palliative care is more than just end-of-life support

      Dr. Vishal Parackal | Conditions
    • When life makes you depend on Depends

      Francisco M. Torres, MD | Physician
    • Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.

      Jeffrey Hatef, Jr., MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • How drug companies profit by inventing diseases

      Martha Rosenberg | Meds
    • How value-based care reshapes kidney disease management for better outcomes [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Imagining a career path beyond medicine and its impact

      Hunter Delmoe | Education
    • What is professional identity formation in medicine?

      Adrian Reynolds, PhD | Education
    • A step‑by‑step guide to crafting meaningful research questions

      Julian Gendreau, MD | Physician
    • When recurrent UTIs might actually be bladder cancer

      Fara Bellows, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Give meaningful use value for physicians
3 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...