The results of the 2016 HIMSS Health Information Technology Value survey show that 88 percent of organizations with advanced electronic health record (EHR) environments identified at least one positive outcome from their use of an EHR.
This is the feedback from 52 senior IT leaders at some of the most technologically advanced hospitals in the nation. These are organizations that have achieved Stage 6 or Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics EMRAMSM model and those that are HIMSS Davies award winners — representing the best of the breed, in other words, according to HIMSS.
The respondents to this survey indicated they were able to derive value from their EHR implementation across key areas, including clinician satisfaction, treatment and clinical areas, electronic data and information, prevention and patient education and savings. Additionally, 83 percent of respondents said their organization's EHR implementation increased efficiencies in clinical staff quality performance. And 52 percent of respondents reported increased efficiencies in the area of clinical staff productivity.
Nearly all respondents (92 percent) indicated their organization measured the impact of their EHR on at least one of the clinical processes included in this study. 81 percent said achieving a positive impact in this area in at least one of the areas tested.
90 percent reported that their organization had a formal measurement process in place for at least one financial metric. More than three-quarters reported that their organization documented a positive impact in the area of savings. The three areas where respondents were most likely to report achieving a positive financial impact were coding accuracy, days in accounts receivable (AR) and transcription costs.
The area with the most positive impact as a result of their organization's EHR implementation was the ability to share information among providers. This was identified by half of survey respondents. Two-thirds of survey respondents (69 percent) reported that their organization has implemented a formal patient engagement strategy; only 42 percent currently have a population health strategy in place at this time.
Survey respondents were more likely to report that their organization had been able to drive increased satisfaction among their nurses than among their physicians. 44 percent of respondents reported satisfaction among nurses, whereas only 29 percent of respondents reported satisfaction among physicians.
Nearly all respondents (90 percent) indicated their organizations communicated the value derived from their EHR implementation to appropriate constituents at their organizations. Respondents were most likely (67 percent) to indicate that their organization reviewed metrics during departmental/staff meetings.
The survey was conducted during the summer and fall of 2015.
The HIMSS STEPSTM model, one of several components in the Health IT Value Suite, is a framework which categorizes health IT value experiences into five general areas: satisfaction, treatment/clinical, electronic information/data, patient engagement and population management and savings.
