As discussion continues concerning the recently proposed Meaningful Use standards for HIT, it appears increasingly likely that federal policymakers will allow providers more flexibility when it comes to qualifying for incentives.
But even as those details are being ironed out, policymakers should be considering how they will measure the effectiveness of the incentives in the years to come.
According to David E. Garets, president and CEO of HIMSS Analytics, it seems clear that the adoption of HIT is on the increase.
In a recent conference call, Garets noted, for example, “that back in 2005 just 18 percent of hospitals reported an increase in their health IT budgets. Conversely, by the end of 2009 . . . that number had leapt to 52 percent.”
Using HIMSS's EMR Adoption Model as a reference, Garets pointed out that at the end of 2005, “half the hospitals in the country were at Stage 2” of the Model. Moreover, "there were no Stage 7s, no Stage 6s, just a couple Stage 5s, and there weren't a significant number of Stage 4s."
By the end of 2009, however, “three times as many providers were at Stage 4 than in 2005, and five times as many were at Stage 3.”
The article points to other encouraging details, but the question for policymakers is how will the HITECH incentives impact this progress? Moreover, what metrics will be used to measure that progress?
It may be that using the HIMSS Model as a measuring stick would be as effective a tool for policymakers as it seems to have been the organization itself. But regardless of the specific method, policymakers should be concerned with measuring the impact of the HITECH incentives.
After all, according the HIMSS data, it seems clear that the industry is already making progress. The real success of the HITECH incentives can best be demonstrated by determining how much more quickly the public’s investment made that progress happen.
Jeff Rowe blogs daily at Priming the Pump.
