Commercial payers don't come to mind when you think of health IT adoption, but many have been active in the area for quite a while.
Before it was fashionable, forward-thinking payers like WellPoint and Aetna believed health IT could help achieve better clinical outcomes, increased patient safety and decreased costs and inefficiencies. They kept developing programs to drive adoption such as requiring the use of EHRs and EMRs for pay-for-performance and quality initiatives.
With the federal incentives for the meaningful use of EHRs in place now, more payers will get on the bandwagon because the industry is finally reaching the tipping point. Every stakeholder, every segment of the industry, understands that health IT will be an integral component to quality healthcare delivery in the 21st century. Implementing health IT will become the cost of doing business. To continue to quote David Blumenthal, MD, head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, using health IT will become a professional requirement for physicians as time goes on.
WellPoint continues to take the lead among payers to drive health IT to critical mass. The national carrier announced that it has established a financing program to support health IT for rural, critical access hospitals. WellPoint understands the need to ensure that these hospitals, which don't have strong funding mechanisms, if the industry is to adopt health IT broadly. Kudos to WellPoint for working to narrow the digital divide.
The program will begin in California and Georgia next year. "Qualifying" hospitals, whatever that means, will be able to borrow funds on a short-term basis to satisfy meaningful use of EHRs. The company did not say when the pilot will be evaluated, but if it's successful, which one could infer if rural, critical-access hospitals are able to implement EHRs and qualify for the federal stimulus funds, WellPoint will consider expansion of the program.
The key, of course, will be timing. With the first stage of qualification and funding to begin next year, there isn't much time left to get these hospitals up and running with EHRs and then be able to meet meaningful use criteria. One hopes that regional extension centers and hospitals already achieving meaningful use of their EHRs will reach out to help rural, critical access hospitals get up to speed as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible. With one of the criteria being able to exchange patient data with other providers, the chances of hospitals wanting to connect to these rural, critical access hospitals will be greater.
Let's see other payers step up to the plate and bring critical mass of health IT to the industry sooner rather than later.
