Massachusetts Studies Reveal Importance of Incentives in HIT Adoption
 
The success of Massachusetts hospitals and physicians to incorporate IT into healthcare demonstrates the importance of incentives, according to two studies conducted by CSC and sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA).
 
The studies, “Adoption of Advanced Clinical Systems in Massachusetts Hospitals” and “Adoption of Electronic Health Record Capabilities in Massachusetts Physician Practices,” examine the progress Massachusetts hospitals and physician practices have made in implementing advanced clinical IT systems. Analysis includes areas where the state leads the nation and next steps toward improving patient care through electronic access to information.
 
According to the reports, adoption of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) among hospitals in Massachusetts is nearly double the national average, and the use of e-prescribing is the highest in the nation. In addition, more than one third of ambulatory physicians are using at least basic electronic health record (EHR) capabilities, a rate more than two times the national average. The studies show these statistics are the direct result of incentives. These include incentives from health plans, a campaign by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to educate hospitals on the value of new technologies, and a state-mandated deadline to have CPOE implementation in all hospitals within four years.
 
Some health plans wrote CPOE implementation incentives into hospital contracts; others provided free e-prescribing software to physicians and offered incentives to encourage continued usage. Partners Community Healthcare Inc, a network of 1,000 primary care providers and 3,500 specialists, set a deadline for use of an EHR system as a condition for network participation.
 
“This data reveals that incentives are making a dramatic difference,” says Deward Watts, president of CSC’s Global Healthcare Sector. “While Massachusetts has a distinct advantage in terms of support from the state government and stakeholder groups, this successful model can be replicated nationwide to create a healthcare infrastructure that significantly improves patient outcomes.”
 
The hospital study (www.csc.com/hospital_study_09) gauges adoption and meaningful use of advanced clinical systems, which include electronic CPOE with clinical decision support and electronic physician and nursing documentation systems. The survey revealed that 18% of hospital chief information officers and executives who responded claimed CPOE is “in routine use,” while another 33% reported that an implementation is in progress, and 20% reported that it has been budgeted but not yet implemented.
 
Massachusetts hospitals are also in various stages of implementing “next-generation” clinical systems. One third of hospitals report using IT for infection management tracking. The state is operating near the national average in electronic medication reconciliation with 57% of hospitals accomplishing at least some portion of this activity electronically.
 
The physician study (www.csc.com/physician_study_09) examines physicians’ use of basic and advanced EHR capabilities. Of those surveyed, 36% said they use all “basic” EHR capabilities outlined in the survey, including electronic medication and problem lists and functionality to order prescriptions electronically. Five percent claimed adoption of all “advanced” EHR capabilities, including disease management and health maintenance functionality.
 
Close to three fourths of physicians surveyed said they order prescriptions electronically for at least some of their patients, while almost two thirds regularly transmit prescriptions electronically to pharmacies via fax or computer. The survey shows that these levels reflect efforts by payers to provide physicians with e-prescribing software.
 
Source: CSC

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