Sutter Health, a Northern California not-for-profit network of community-based healthcare providers, announced it will resume implementation of EHRs throughout its hospitals. Not that the large hospital system is a bellwether for the economic recovery, but given that it stopped its initiative because of the recession, it's easy to come to that conclusion at first blush. The second thought is whether other health systems feel comfortable enough to resume their health IT initiatives.
CEO Pat Fry said EHRs were valuable tools for its patients and the hospital system wants to get them to its patients as quickly as possible. Fry didn't mention the federal incentives as being a driver, but I'm sure that played into the timing of the initiative's restart. And it could very well be the driver for other large health systems, too.
Regarding Fry's comment, it sounds better to put the focus on patients, but not mentioning how Sutter Health could derive meaningful use of EHRs for the benefit of its patients was a missed opportunity. If hospital and physician group executives are putting that much money into the system - and for Sutter Health that's $400 million over five years - they need to be pounding the pavement touting the benefits of EHRs to the greater community.
Sutter Health has already implemented EHRs in its physician groups, which comprise six IPAs and eight medical groups. My medical group, which was bought by Sutter Health a number of years ago, was one of the physician offices that had to convert. From my perspective as a patient, the conversion was pretty smooth and up and running in-between my yearly check-ups.
As large health systems begin, restart or continue their EMR or EHR initiatives, it's to their benefit to talk loudly and often about the benefits. It's also to their benefit and the greater community of health IT supporters to quantify and publish those benefits.
Sutter Health made its announcement. Who's next?
