Becker's Hospital Review

84 Health IT EHRs and Physician Satisfaction: 10 Things to Know By Shannon Barnet B lack Book Rankings has revealed the results of a sweeping four-month survey to find which EHR and EMR software systems are meeting the needs of phy- sicians the most in 2015. The market research organization surveyed more than 5,700 small and independent medical practices. Here are 10 findings from the survey. 1. Roughly 83 percent of the medical practices surveyed reported the single biggest trend in physician technology is cloud-based EHRs. 2. Improvements in web-based EHRs — includ- ing implementations, updates, usability and customization — improved overall EHR satis- faction in small practices from barely 13 per- cent meeting or exceeding expectations in 2012 to 81 percent overall contented small practice EHR users in the second quarter of 2015. 3. The adoption rate of cloud-based EHRs in small practices in urban settings increased from 60 percent in 2013 to 82 percent in 2015. The adoption by rural practices remains approxi- mately the same as it was in 2013, around 20 percent. 4. Nearly all (91 percent) of non-urban physi- cians in solo practice report fear of internet out- ages prevents them from changing to a cloud- based EHR, despite the potential benefits. 5. The majority (69 percent) of small practices plan to increase their investment in the advance- ments made by their current cloud-based vendor. 6. The main factor in purchasing a cloud EHR is pricing, according to 79 percent of small medi- cal practices. 7. Thirty-eight percent of small or solo practice physicians have moderate to serious concerns about the security and privacy of cloud-based EHR systems even though 90 percent recognize that the cloud EHR platform and infrastructure models have matured into being a top safeguard to protect health information. 8. Still, 81 percent of physicians employ- ing server-based EHR software say they are concerned that their system, device, server or files may be stolen or breached. Ninety- two percent of small practice EHR users that switched to a cloud-based EHR from a server in the last six months feel their chances of a major patient record data breach are lowered, but more than half (52 percent) report their fears of system downtime have increased since the switchover. 9. About 69 percent of small practice physicians agree that first generation EHRs have not lived up to expectations, and are dissatisfied with cost add-ons, affected workflows and lost time with patients. 10. Conversions to using software-as-a-service type implementations have increased from 64 percent in 2014 to 79 percent in 2015, driving the growing number of physician practices to cloud-based products. n Epic's Judy Faulkner Pledges 99% of Her Wealth to Philanthropy By Akanksha Jayanthi I n 2010, Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates launched The Giving Pledge, a initiative for some of the world's wealthiest people to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Verona, Wis.-based Epic Systems, is one of the latest individuals to join. Ms. Faulkner joins 136 other individuals and families who have pledged to donate at least half of their fortunes to charity. In her formal pledge letter, Ms. Faulkner said she plans to give away 99 percent of her assets. In May, Forbes named Ms. Faulkner among the "Wealthiest Female Techies in America," noting her net worth at $2.6 billion. In her pledge letter, Ms. Faulkner said that while Epic needs to remain finan- cially secure so the company can help healthcare organizations take better care of patients, she never cared for the money. "The work of my life has been to develop software that would help keep people well and help sick people get better…Epic needs to be strong, success- ful and financially secure so that we can continue to support the healthcare community and build creative solutions for the future," Ms. Faulkner wrote. She continued, "But I never had any personal desire to be a wealthy billionaire living lavishly." Ms. Faulkner mentions in her letter how her shares from Epic are going into a foundation that will give money to continue to improve healthcare. n Former Hospital CFO Receives 23-Month Sentence for Lying About Meaningful Use By Ayla Ellison C enter, Texas-based Shelby Regional Medical Center's former CFO, Joe White, was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme, according to a KTRE report. Mr. White pleaded guilty in November 2014 to making a false statement. Along with his prison sentence, Mr. White was ordered to pay nearly $4.5 million in restitution. Mr. White admitted he attested to successful meaningful use of an EHR, even though Shelby Regional did not meet meaningful use requirements. As a re- sult of Mr. White's false statements, the group of hospitals collected nearly $17 million in government incentive funds. In November, Mr. White also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for using an employee's name to falsify documentation for the incentive funds that Shelby Regional received. He also made false statements regarding other hospitals converting to electronic records technology. This year, Tariq Mahmood, MD — the owner of Shelby Regional and the other hospitals involved in the scheme — was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for healthcare fraud, conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and identity theft. n

• Cover