Costs of moving to e-health records slows adoption

08.06.2006
While parts of the private sector have begun to adopt electronic medical record (EMR) software, many physician practices and regional health IT partnerships still are struggling with absorbing the costs of the software.

That was the message from some of the speakers this week at the inaugural National Health IT Day. The event was sponsored by more than 40 public and private-sector organizations to increase awareness of IT's potential to improve health care and control some its spiraling costs.

Mark McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said that while most health care executives believe that EMRs can boost the quality of care, many believe that "health IT doesn't pay off, especially if they operate on thin margins."

In every other sector of the economy, he said, when IT creates more value, users usually are willing to pay more for it. "In health care ... you often get paid less when you provide a higher level of care at a lower cost," said McClellan.

He said CMS is striving to change that paradigm with several programs, including demonstration projects to pay doctors more when IT leads to better quality of care and initiatives to help physicians get EMRs up and running in their practices.

Finally, he said, CMS will announce changes later this summer to legislation that is designed to prevent hospitals from providing kickbacks to doctors. Those changes to the Stark Legislation will allow hospitals to provide health IT to physicians without running afoul of the law.