At some point the tone deaf ONC and CMS will get out of the way of providers and vendors to let us start to meaningfully use EHRs. I am stunned that ONC (and you were a part of this Jacob) has not heard the deafening cry of front line providers begging for them to stop with certification, MU, PQRS and all the other nonsense that is getting in the way of actual patient care. Government rated Stars for EHR systems? Thats just nonsense, so I have to agree with Jacob. Similarly rating of physicians and providers publicly is also nonsense, as many providers do the hard work of providing appropriate patient care, not working to "satisfy" every patient's wants and needs. How satisfied will a patient be if they demand narcotics and I give 10 reasons why that is not appropriate for their condition, and I am given 1 star rating by them? Is that fair and or appropriate? I always say be wary of the 5 star provider. We are at a cross roads with EHRs and providers, if the heart and minds aren't lost already, they are certainly very close.
Barbara Hillock - 9 years ago
The government has already put into place the requirements and a certification process, now adding another evaluation step would be unproductive. Especially since customers do not always follow the vendors implementation recommendation and then a rating is created by customer expectations which in this case would be inaccurate and misleading.
Ross Koppel - 9 years ago
I agree with Jacob. These are stunningly complex systems, that can work OK with one part, fail totally in many other functions, be helpful in others, etc. A star system is just too simplistic.
Jacob Reider - 9 years ago
Despite Congressional enthusiasm for this concept - it's a terrible idea - and should not be government's role.
At some point the tone deaf ONC and CMS will get out of the way of providers and vendors to let us start to meaningfully use EHRs. I am stunned that ONC (and you were a part of this Jacob) has not heard the deafening cry of front line providers begging for them to stop with certification, MU, PQRS and all the other nonsense that is getting in the way of actual patient care. Government rated Stars for EHR systems? Thats just nonsense, so I have to agree with Jacob. Similarly rating of physicians and providers publicly is also nonsense, as many providers do the hard work of providing appropriate patient care, not working to "satisfy" every patient's wants and needs. How satisfied will a patient be if they demand narcotics and I give 10 reasons why that is not appropriate for their condition, and I am given 1 star rating by them? Is that fair and or appropriate? I always say be wary of the 5 star provider. We are at a cross roads with EHRs and providers, if the heart and minds aren't lost already, they are certainly very close.
The government has already put into place the requirements and a certification process, now adding another evaluation step would be unproductive. Especially since customers do not always follow the vendors implementation recommendation and then a rating is created by customer expectations which in this case would be inaccurate and misleading.
I agree with Jacob. These are stunningly complex systems, that can work OK with one part, fail totally in many other functions, be helpful in others, etc. A star system is just too simplistic.
Despite Congressional enthusiasm for this concept - it's a terrible idea - and should not be government's role.