The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has added three certification programs for EHRs. This is good news. Adding more specialties, namely, behavior health, dermatology and long-term and post-acute care, will help drive EHR adoption across provider groups and spread the benefits of EHRs to a greater number of patients.
During the public comment period for the proposed meaningful use criteria, it was clear that behavior health had not been adequately addressed. Behavioral health has been acknowledged to be a critical component to treating the whole patient. Depression is one of the most common complications of chronic conditions because it often worsens the condition, according to the National Society on an Aging Society. Anywhere from 25 to 33 percent of people with chronic conditions also suffer from depression. The World Health Organization conducted a study in 2007 and found that depression was more damaging than angina, arthritis, asthma and diabetes. So it's important to include behavioral health component in the EHR or as a standalone EHR.
With researching dermatology, I found that one in every three people in the United States suffers from a skin disease at any given time, according to the Coalition of Skin Diseases. In fact, skin disease is more prevalent than cancer, hypertension or obesity. For 22 skin diseases the direct medical cost exceeded $29 billion in 2004, and the indirect cost associated with lost productivity for the skin conditions totaled more than $10 billion.
Given that long-term care will become a huge issue in this country as the Baby Boomers continue to age, having certification in long-term care and post-acute care will address the needs of a significant part of our population.
Developers of EHR components for other specialties should be encouraged by the CCHIT certifications. The wider the net we can cast for aggregating patient data, the more comprehensive a picture we can have of the patient to treat all of his or her ailments. Certification is a step in the right direction.
