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62 CIO / HEALTH IT Medical Specialties Ranked by EHR Use By Jessica Kim Cohen A cross medical specialties, physicians report an 86.9 percent EHR adoption rate, accord- ing to a report from the CDC's National Cen- ter for Health Statistics. The report shares data on office-based physicians' use and adoption of EHR systems collected through the 2015 National Electronic Health Records Survey. The survey includes input from 10,302 physicians, excluding anesthesiologists, radiologists and pa- thologists. Here are the five medical specialties with the highest percentage of physicians using an EHR system. 1. Cardiovascular disease: 95.6 percent 2. Neurology: 94.5 percent 3. Urology: 94 percent 4. General surgery: 93.8 percent 5. Orthopedic surgery: 93.2 percent n Study: Physicians Spend 50% of Their Day on 'Desktop Medicine' By Jessica Kim Cohen A study in Health Affairs investigated how physicians split their time between patient visits and computer tasks. The researchers — led by Ming Tai-Seale, PhD, associate director of the Mountain View, Calif.-based Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute — identified 471 primary care physicians who collectively worked on 31 million EHR transac- tions between 2011 and 2014. The researchers used the EHRs' time stamp functionality to examine how physicians allocated their time. Over time, EHR logs showed a decline in physician time spent on face-to-face visits with patients and an increase in time spent on "desktop medicine," which includes communicating with patients via patient portal, responding to patients' online re- quests, sending staff messages and reviewing test results. On average, physicians spent 3.08 hours on office visits each day and 3.17 hours on desktop medicine each day. The researchers recommended "staffing and scheduling in the physician's office, as well as provider payment models for pri- mary care practice, should account for these desktop medicine efforts." n CMS: 10 Innovative Hospital Programs By Jessica Kim Cohen C ambridge, Mass.-based Abt Associ- ates completed its final evaluation of the 10 projects that won hospi- tal-based Health Care Innovation Awards from CMS. HCIAs provide project funding to healthcare organizations "implementing the most com- pelling new ideas to deliver better health, im- proved care and lower costs to people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program," according to CMS. e report, which was prepared for CMS, de- tails how hospitals' workforce development, patient satisfaction, Medicare spending, care utilization and IT use changed as a result of the funding awards. Here are the 10 projects. 1. Christus Health (Irving, Texas). is health system screened hospital and nursing home patients to identify early signs of con- gestive heart failure and sepsis. 2. High Value Healthcare Collabora- tive (Hanover, N.H.). is consortium, which includes 19 health systems and Ha- nover-based Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, implemented standardized care bundles to improve sepsis care in emergency departments and inten- sive care units. 3. Emory Healthcare (Atlanta). is health system addressed intensivist shortages by us- ing an eICU and training critical care nurse practitioners and physician assistants. 4. Henry Ford Health System (De- troit). is health system worked to improve patient mobility during hospitalization to re- duce hospital-acquired conditions. 5. Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.). is clinical practice developed a cloud-based electronic system to provide ambient warn- ing and response evaluation for patients in ICUs. 6. Methodist Hospital Research Institute (Houston). is medical research institute screened older patients to determine need for preventative delirium intervention. 7. Methodist Hospital Research Institute (Houston). is medical research institute screened hospital and nursing home patients for early sepsis detection and intervention. 8. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York City). is medical school imple- mented decision support systems and new clinical protocols to improve geriatric emer- gency department care. 9. St. Luke's Regional Medical Center (Sioux City, Iowa). is hospital used an eICU to standardize practices and improve intensive care monitoring. 10. University of Chicago. is healthcare provider integrated team-based care across its hospital and campus settings. n