Meeting the different stages of Meaningful Use is a challenge that various healthcare industries are working to overcome. Whether a facility is working to achieve Stage 1, Stage 2 or even Stage 3, a recent survey indicates that more organizations are implementing various aspects of Meaningful Use.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conducted a follow-up survey in 2014 to information collected in 2013 on how HIE organizations were progressing in Meaningful Use-related services. According to the results, secure messaging usage increased in the number of organizations that use a health information exchange (HIE) by 20 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to a recent survey from the (HIMSS).
Specifically, 59 percent of surveyed facilities in 2013 said that their HIE offered Direct HISP services for secure messaging between providers and patients, while that number increased to 79 percent in 2014.
In 2013, the HIMSS HIE committee used an online survey tool to interview 23 HIE/HIO organizations about their Meaningful Use-related services. For 2013, 19 of those same groups participated for a second time.
“This survey, distributed to both public and private HIE organizations across the US, asked which Meaningful Use-related services are currently offered to participating stakeholders,” Didi Davis of Serendipity Health and Pam Matthews, RN, MBA, CPHIMS, FHIMSS of HIMSS wrote in a 2014 blog post. “Results illustrate the wide range of services offered by different HIOs, the areas where service offerings are more well-established, and those that are in need of development in order to support stakeholders during an audit process.”
The follow-up survey also showed that all interviewed entities reported that they had reviewed and conducted a security risk analysis. In 2013, 87 percent of respondents said that they had performed a risk analysis. The risk analysis is designed to protect electronic health information created or maintained by Certified EHR Technology through the implementation of appropriate technical capabilities, according to results of the 2013 survey.
Another important comparison to note is the increase in patient access to the HIE. In 2013, 32 percent of respondents stated that they offered this service to patients. That number increased to 47 percent in 2014.
For Eligible Providers (EPs), this part of Meaningful Use includes giving “patients the ability to view online, download and transmit their health information within 4 business days of the information being available to the EP,” according to HIMSS. For Eligible Hospitals (EH) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), this consists of giving “patients the ability to view online, download, and transmit information about a hospital admission.”
While this survey showed an increase in Meaningful Use secure messaging, not all agencies are pleased with the progression of the Meaningful Use program. In October, the American Medical Association (AMA) said in a letter to to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and Karen DeSalvo, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology that it does not see the value in secure messaging, and that physicians should be able to choose whether or not to use it.
“Medicare does not reimburse for secure messaging, and while many physicians have successfully incorporated it into their workflow, many others do not use it precisely because it is an added workflow burden,” the AMA wrote.
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