Doctors and patients overwhelmingly agree on key requirements for information technology (IT) to increase the quality, safety, and cost-efficiency of care, as well as core privacy protections, according to a national survey released today by the Markle Foundation.

  The Markle Survey of Health in a Networked Life is the first of its kind to compare the core values of physicians and the general public, referred to here also as patients based on their opinions as consumers of health care, on deployment of information technology in health care. It comes at the start of a new federal program to help doctors and hospitals upgrade from paper to electronic health records.

  "Doctors and patients agree on the importance of putting accurate information in their hands to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care," Markle President Zoë Baird said.

"A surprising 74 percent of doctors say they want to be able to share patient information with other professionals electronically. As medical professionals shift from paper records to electronic systems, this survey shows that the public and physicians overwhelmingly agree that we need to measure the payoff from investments in information technology in terms of better health and more cost-efficient care," Baird said.

Agreement between doctors and the public was strongest on requirements to ensure that new federal health IT incentives will be well spent. The funding was included in the stimulus bill passed by Congress in 2009.

"Roughly 80 percent majorities of both the public and doctors agreed that it’s important to require participating hospitals and doctors to share information to better coordinate care, cut unnecessary costs, and reduce medical errors," said Carol Diamond, MD, MPH, Managing Director at the New York-based nonprofit foundation.

"By the same overwhelming margin, four in five doctors and patients expressed the importance of privacy protections for online medical records, an expectation we have repeatedly found on the part of the public in our previous surveys," Diamond said. "They also agree on the importance of measuring progress. This survey is a powerful indication that the public and physicians alike want investments in health IT to come with accountability."

Survey Shows Many Doctors and Patients Believe Key Information is Lost in Their Health Care Conversations

Of the doctors surveyed, 94 percent said their patients at least sometimes forget or lose track of potentially important things they are told during doctor visits, and 34 percent of the doctors said they themselves at least sometimes forget or lose track of potentially important things that their patients tell them. Among the patient group, 30 percent perceived that their doctors forget or lose track of potentially important information at least sometimes.

According to the Markle Survey of Health in a Networked Life, we have found that:

• Among the doctors, 74 percent would prefer computer-based means of sharing patient information with each other. (Only 17 percent of doctors predominantly use such means today.)

• Nearly half (47 percent) of the doctors would prefer computer-based means of sharing records with their patients. (Only 5 percent do so today.)

• Yet 74 percent of doctors said patients should be able to share their information electronically with their doctors and other practitioners.

• Among the public, 10 percent reported currently having an electronic personal health record (PHR)—up from 3 percent who reported having one in Markle’s 2008 survey.

• Roughly 2 in 3 of both groups (70 percent of the public and 65 percent of the doctors) agreed that patients should be able to download their personal health information online.

• And 70 percent of the public said patients should get a written or online summary after each doctor visit, but only 36 percent of the doctors agreed.  (Only 4 percent of doctors say that they currently provide all their patients a summary after every visit).

"Our past surveys show that most US adults believe personal health records that include copies of their own medical information would help them improve their health and communicate better with health professionals," said Josh Lemieux, Director of Personal Health Technology at Markle. "With this survey, we find an increase in PHR use and learn that roughly two in three doctors agree that patients should have the option of online access to their personal health information. The survey also confirms that having modern information tools comes with expectations for privacy protections."

Other findings from the Markle survey include:

• Majorities of 70 percent to 80 percent of both patients and doctors support privacy-protective practices, such as letting people see who has accessed their records, notifying people affected by information breaches, and giving people mechanisms to exercise choice and correct information.

• Majorities (65 percent of the public and 75 percent of doctors) agreed that it’s important to have a policy against the government collecting personally identifiable health information for health IT or health care quality-improvement programs.

• If there are safeguards to protect identity, however, at least 68 percent of the public and 75 percent of the doctors expressed willingness to allow composite information to be used to detect outbreaks, bioterror attacks, and fraud, and to conduct research and quality and service improvement programs.

• Large majorities of the public (75 percent) and the doctors (73 percent) said it will be important to measure progress on improving health care quality and safety to ensure the public health IT investments will be well spent. Both groups (each at 69 percent) agreed on the importance of specific requirements to improve the nation's health in areas like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and asthma.

• Many are unaware of the health IT incentives: 85 percent of the public and 36 percent of doctors describe themselves as not very or not at all familiar with the health IT incentives program, which makes subsidies available for doctors and hospitals to increase use of information technology.

"We all have a stake in making sure that information is protected and trusted so that it can be put to best use to improve our health," Diamond said. "This survey shows that doctors and their patients share many of the same hopes and expectations for advancing health in a connected world."
 
Knowledge Networks (KN) conducted the surveys between August 10 and 26, 2010. The general population survey of 1,582 adults age 18 and older used KN’s KnowledgePanel®, a probability-based panel of 50,000 individuals designed to be representative of the US population. The survey of 779 physicians was conducted using KN’s Physicians Consulting Network (PCN), an invitation-only list of more than 45,000 practicing physicians.
 
Results are available at www.markle.org.

Large Majorities of the Public and Physicians Agree on Information-Sharing Priorities for Health IT
 
Many Doctors and Patients Perceive Gaps in Their Communications

3 in 4 Doctors Would Prefer Computerized Means To Share Patient Information with Each Other
 
PHR Adoption on the Rise
 
The Public and Doctors Largely Agree Patients Should Be Able To View, Download and Share Their Health Info

Public and Doctors Alike Support Allowing Individuals to Download Their Own Health Information
 
70 Percent of Public Says Patients Should Get Summaries after Doctor Visits
 
The Public and Doctors Agree on Importance of Specific Privacy Protections for Health IT
 
The Public and Physicians Largely Unfamiliar with Details of Health IT Incentives Program
 
Roughly Half of Doctors Say Pay Reform is Important
 
The Public and Doctors Surveyed Use Social Media in Comparable Proportions
 
Demographics of Public and Doctors Surveyed

According to GlobalData’s new report, “Electronic Medical Records (EMR) - Global Opportunity Assessment, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2016” the global electronic medical records (EMR) market is forecast to grow at a 12% Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) to reach $9,123m by 2016. Hospital/Enterprise EMR will continue to be the largest sub-segment, and will grow at a 12% CAGR during 2009–2016. In the same period, the Ambulatory EMR segment is forecast to grow at 11% CAGR to reach $958m by 2016. The market will be driven by government financial incentives in countries such as the US, Australia, China and Canada to create a robust healthcare IT infrastructure.

Over the past decade, governments across the world have recognized the importance of IT in healthcare. There has been growing evidence of the time and cost efficiencies the healthcare IT systems can bring into an already overstretched healthcare system. Since creating an IT infrastructure requires a significant amount of funds, governments have stepped up the funding for various IT programs. In addition, all healthcare IT solutions require a significant amount of services to get the system in place and to maintain it after installation. With the growing adoption of healthcare IT, the demand for healthcare IT services is also likely to go up.

In 2009, the US government dedicated a $19.2 billion stimulus package to healthcare IT infrastructure and Electronic Health Record (EHR) implementation by both hospitals and physicians under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). Besides the HITECH Act, the migration to the International Classification of Disease -10 (ICD-10) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) 5010 are further expected to boost the healthcare IT services market in the US.

The Australian government recently announced health reforms to improve and modernize the country’s healthcare system. The government plans to invest more than AUD7.4 billion in the healthcare system, which includes an allotment of AUD464m towards healthcare IT.

 

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Information Session on Nationwide Health Information Network Specifications

Please join members of the Nationwide Health Information Network technical team for a special information session on implementing Nationwide Health Information Network specifications. This orientation will bring together technical consultants, entities that have implemented the specifications, and organizations just starting the process of implementation in an informative exchange of best practices and a robust question and answer session.

When: Wednesday, January 26, 2011; 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST

Dial-in: 1-877-218-2835 Meeting ID: 6174296

For more information, email bechang@deloitte.com

 

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, announced today the adoption of new program criteria for 2011. Following the organization’s standard, 60-day public comment period, EHNAC has incorporated public feedback to finalize and adopt the enhanced criteria versions for the following programs:

“This is a time of foundational change within the healthcare industry and related markets. Presenting accreditation programs that effectively evaluate the achievement of organizations involved in health data processing is a constantly evolving process in which EHNAC and its stakeholders continue to place an exceptional focus.”

1. ePAP – e-Prescribing Accreditation Program (Version 6.2)

2. FSAP EHN – Financial Services Accreditation Program for Electronic Health Networks (Version 2.2)

3. FSAP Lockbox – Financial Services Accreditation Program for Lockbox Services (Version 2.2)

4. HNAP-70 – Healthcare Network Accreditation Plus Select SAS 70^©1 Criteria Program (Version 1.2)

5. HNAP EHN – Healthcare Network Accreditation Program for Electronic Health Networks (Version 10.2)²

6. HNAP Medical Biller – Healthcare Network Accreditation Program for Medical Billers (Version 1.1)

7. HNAP TPA – Healthcare Network Accreditation Program for TPAs (Version 1.1)

8. MSOAP – Management Service Organization Accreditation Program (Version 1.0)

9. OSAP – Outsourced Services Accreditation Program³ (Version 1.1)

In October of 2010, EHNAC also announced the release of its Health Information Exchange Accreditation Program (HIEAP Version 1.0).

“Our progressive movement to promote industry standards of health data processing stretches across a diverse cross-section of healthcare stakeholders that utilize electronic health networks including payers, financial services firms, medical billers, hospitals, clinicians, prescribers and consumers” says Mark Gingrich, commissioner and criteria committee chair of EHNAC. “This is a time of foundational change within the healthcare industry and related markets. Presenting accreditation programs that effectively evaluate the achievement of organizations involved in health data processing is a constantly evolving process in which EHNAC and its stakeholders continue to place an exceptional focus.”

EHNAC accreditation recognizes excellence in health data processing and transactions, and confirms compliance with industry-established standards plus HIPAA and HITECH regulations. Organizations that apply for accreditation or re-accreditation after Jan. 1, 2011 will now need to adhere to the enhanced criteria standards. Criteria for all EHNAC programs are posted online.

¹ SAS 70(©) is a proprietary term owned by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

²Criteria for Healthcare Network Accreditation Program for Payer-Owned Electronic Health Networks (HNAP Payer) is included.

³OSAP includes eight different accreditation programs tailored for Call Centers, Data Centers, DRP Facilities, Media Storage, Network Administrators, Printing, Product Development and Scanning.

About EHNAC

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data. These entities include electronic health networks, payers, financial services firms, health information exchanges and e-prescribing solution providers.

EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit www.ehnac.org or contact info@ehnac.org.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) awarded Accenture a two-year contract to help identify the standards and specifications that facilitate the exchange of data across the evolving healthcare system.

“Those standards will pave the way for fully integrated, patient-centric healthcare that focuses on prevention and wellness.”

Under the contract, Accenture will work with ONC to develop and manage business scenarios called “use cases” that ONC will use to help determine the standards and IT systems necessary for peak operation. In cooperation with ONC and other healthcare stakeholders, Accenture will help identify real-world needs, prioritize them through a governance process, and create explicit documentation of the use cases, and provide information for development of computer system requirements and technical specifications that enable interoperability – the seamless exchange of information among diverse providers and systems.

“Standards that all stakeholders in the connected health environment can adopt are essential to achieving the goals of the HITECH legislation and will help drive down costs and increase the quality of and access to healthcare,” said Rick Ratliff, global managing director, Accenture’s Connected Health IT Solutions. “Those standards will pave the way for fully integrated, patient-centric healthcare that focuses on prevention and wellness.”

The use cases will focus on patient-related information, such as ensuring that care providers’ certified electronic medical records systems can handle patient requests for clinical summaries. Accenture also will create a comprehensive, sustainable process for ONC’s standards and interoperability framework, as well as use-cases as part of the framework.

ONC’s framework will establish a set of tools, processes and reusable components that enable the refinement and increased adoption of interoperability standards. Interoperability is critical to the expansion of the secure, electronic movement and use of health information across healthcare networks. The framework also supports future standards for regional health information organizations, state-wide health information exchanges and the National Health Information Network.

Learn more about Accenture’s Health industry group.

 

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