Stimulus Bill Includes Plan to Computerize Health Records in Five Years
HEALTH
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Sarah Gantz
Boston University Washington News Service
Feb. 5, 2009
WASHINGTON—When it comes to medical technology, Massachusetts is ahead of the game. Hospitals, private practices and medical facilities across the state have been working to computerize patients’ health records for years, a practice intended to reduce medical errors and save money. But it won’t be easy and it may not be enough.
The stimulus package moving through Congress this week outlines a national plan to computerize every American’s health record in five years. The billions of dollars set aside for this program in the stimulus legislation would supplement the out-of-pocket money that medical facilities in Massachusetts are already putting toward moving from paper to computer, a process that takes years.
The state budget includes $15 million to go toward Gov. Deval Patrick’s goal of computerizing all health records by 2015, but many in the medical world say that without federal aid, electronic health records across the board may not happen any time soon.
“Crucial. Very, very important,” was how William Corbett, the vice president of UMass Memorial Medical Group, described federal aid for electronic health records. “If we want to have doctors electronic in five to 10 years, it’s not going to happen unless there’s some federal money.”
UMass Memorial began transitioning its staff of more than 800 doctors to electronic records two years ago. About one fourth of its doctors now use Allscripts, a Web-based program that makes data more readily accessible to doctors, Mr. Corbett said. The hospital has received some money through grants, but much of the cost, about $50,000 per doctor, has come from internal funds, he said.
Medical professionals say that electronic health records reduce the number of medical errors by making it easier to access a patient’s medical record. About 90 percent of doctors and 70 percent of hospitals will be using comprehensive electronic health records within the next decade, according to the office of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).
“Health information technology has extraordinary potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine, and Massachusetts is leading the way,” said Sen. Kennedy, adding that “electronic medical records will significantly reduce costs, bureaucratic red tape, and medical errors, as well improve the quality of care for patients.”
Dr. Dilip Jain, of Worcester, has kept his patients’ medical records electronically for more than eight years. Rather than flipping through thousands of pages of paper charts, he simply scrolls through one screen to find the information he wants. “Data at your fingertips,” he said.
The transition from paper to computer is a slow process, Mr. Corbett said, because each system must be customized.
“It’s not like a microwave, where you take it out of the box and use it,” he said. Computers must be formatted to build dictionaries, automatically transfer data, and address billing needs, he said.
Dr. John D. Halamka, the chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, agrees. “It’s not about buying PCs and installing software, it’s about the people we need to make it happen,” he said. The process of computerizing health records involves a team of people to organize and maintain the use of the electronic programs, which he says could create thousands of jobs.
A major challenge of implementing these programs is getting doctors on board, experts say. Dr. Jain said some of his colleagues nicknamed him the Space-age Guy because of how easily he adapted to electronic records.
Dr. Lawrence D. Garber, medical director for informatics of the Fallon Clinic in Worcester, said the relationship between having electronic records and using them was “very much like buying a piece of exercise equipment—you can buy it and have someone put it in your house, but if you don’t use it regularly, you won’t get the benefits from it.”
The same is true for computerized health records, he said. Without the necessary staff training and site maintenance, doctors will simply not use the system.
Provisions in the Senate version of the stimulus bill that provide monetary incentives for using computerized record systems may address that problem.
The bill would allow for health providers who participate in the Medicare program to receive compensation beginning in 2011 for using electronic systems, according to Sen. Kennedy’s office.
A similar provision would allow health care providers who service Medicaid patients to receive aid to offset the costs of supporting, maintaining or upgrading certified electronic health systems.
Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative connected 600 physicians in three communities, Brockton, Newburyport, and North Adams, with computerized health records, a $50 million project made possible by a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield, said Micky Tripathi, the nonprofit organization’s chief executive officer.
Mr. Tripathi said that the project is an example of the large amount of money that is needed to complete the transition of Massachusetts doctors to computerized records.
Federal money would help the medical facilities make the transition, he said, but aid would also benefit the many health-oriented research facilities and production companies in Massachusetts.
Girish Kumar Navani, the chief executive officer of eClinicalWorks, an electronic medical records provider based in Westborough, said he plans to hire at least 150 employees in the Massachusetts area to help with the increased demand for services that the company has been experiencing in the last few years. The company also will open a new facility in California to meet demand on the West Coast.
“The stimulus will have an amazing impact on jobs in the short term and significant impact on improving health care costs in the long term,” he said. “It’s what you’d call a no-brainer.”
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