Becker's Hospital Review

71 Health IT A lthough Cottage Hospital in Woodsville, N.H., was one of the first hospitals to attest to meaningful use stage 2, had it not been for a clerical error they may have been able to attest even sooner. A government contractor made a mistake in determining the critical access hospital's eligibility to attest, says Maria Ryan, PhD, APRN, CEO of Cottage Hospital, so the hospital could not begin the attestation period until the eli- gibility issue was resolved. "It ended up costing us several months — we were ready," says Dr. Ryan. Cottage Hospital has a reputation for being ready for technology. Despite its small size, the organization has consistently been a leader in health IT efforts — it was the first critical access hospital in New England to reach meaningful use stage 1, attesting in July 2011, and was the first hospital in New Hamp- shire to be able to provide surveillance information to the state on public health issues. The hospital's reputation for leading the way in health IT has helped the organization attract staff who have the talent and drive to help Cottage Hospital remain on the cutting edge. The organization's dedication to health IT is why Dr. Ryan's frustrations re- garding the delay went beyond money. "It had always been part of our busi- ness strategy to attest, but it was more for the staff who had worked so hard," she says. "I wanted them to get that recognition." That is not to say the attestation process was not without its challenges. To avoid clinician resistance or apathy to the new technology, attesting to mean- ingful use was made an organizationwide effort from the start. "This was not an IT project or a clinical project, this was our project," says Dr. Ryan. To create this unity, focus was kept on the benefits for the patient — by us- ing the new technology, exchanging information and embracing the patient portal, patient care would be more seamless, efficient and better, leadership told the physicians. Dr. Ryan invested in a nursing informatics position to act as a liaison be- tween the IT and clinical departments to help "bridge the gap" that can exist between these two sides. She also was in contact with the hospital's electronic health record vendor, MEDHOST, conveying needs as they arose and work- ing with MEDHOST to find solutions. She gives the example of the medication reconciliation process. "Through our hospitalists' clinical understanding of patient care, we were able to fa- cilitate a discussion between our vendors MEDHOST and ExitCare, our dis- charge instructions solution, on collaboratively working together on a more effective process for medical reconciliation." For other organizations still working on meaningful use stage 2, Dr. Ryan recommends all senior leaders be actively involved in the attestation process. Meetings about attestation should be closer to weekly than monthly and ex- ecutives should be interacting with the process on a daily basis. "It needs to be made a priority within the organization," she says. "If it's not, [attestation] will take a long time, if it happens at all." n How 25-Bed Cottage Hospital Reached MU2 By Helen Gregg Study: Patients More Likely to Lie When Physicians Use EHRs By Helen Gregg W orries about privacy or security may keep some patients from be- ing honest about their medical history when they see their phy- sician entering the information into a computer, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Medical privacy and security concerns involving electronic health records are prevalent among patients. The majority of patients — 83 percent — expect hospitals to use electronic health records, but only 53 percent said they trust the safety and security of EHRs, according to a poll by Morning Consult. For this study, researchers used the 2012 Health Information National Trends Survey, in which 13 percent of patients reported withholding information out of concerns the information wouldn't be kept secure or secret. Analyzing the data against provider EHR adoption and controlling for several variables, re- searchers found a positive correlation between patients willfully withholding information and providers' use of EHRs. While the findings suggest EHR-related privacy or security concerns may cause some patients to misrepresent their medical histories, the authors say the ad- vantages of EHRs most likely outweigh this drawback. The researchers also recommend providers discuss EHR privacy and security with patients. n REGISTER TODAY! Becker's Hospital Review Chief Information Officer Roundtable November 4, 2014 Ritz-Carlton Chicago, Chicago 35 Speakers, 17 CIO Speakers, 3 Tracks and 14 Sessions Co-chaired by Scott Becker, Publisher, Becker's Hospital Review, and Chuck Lauer, Former Publisher, Modern Healthcare To learn more visit www.BeckersHospitalReview.com To register, visit www.regonline.com/ceoroundtable2014

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