In this age of Big Data, there’s a lot of talk about the insight this gives the enterprise. Key decision makers can measure, react and improve based on real-time data like never before. In healthcare, we focus on capturing information to not only improve our outcomes, but to collectively improve healthcare efficiency and costs across the board. It’s the goal for data management as a whole, really, but are we falling short?
Too often, electronic health records (EHR) systems fall short of expectations. Either providers can’t share health data because of the actions of other organizations or consumers can’t gain access to the information they need. In both cases, the ultimate goal of EHR is missing the mark and the federal government wants to do something about it.
According to a recent post in Health Data Management, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology has launched a complaint site, healthit.gov/healthitcomplaints that invites a formal complaint process for those who have been adversely affected by EHR use. While complaints are nothing new, this portal does allow for the creation of a “front door” concept, making it easier for providers and consumers to lodge a complaint.
More specifically, the ONC is looking for key information to identify weak areas, including problems resulting from intentional blocking or unreasonable interference with the exchange of health information; the inability to share or receive health information; usability issues that prevent the EHR from supporting the work, various workflows and meeting the needs of users; and certified capabilities in the EHR platform that are not working correctly.
Optimal data management focuses on the right standards in place to ensure the capture, management and use of data. If EHR systems are not working according to design or guidelines put in place by the ONC, changes must be made. It’s difficult to analyze the problems, however, when complaints are coming in different forms and information isn’t following set guidelines. The website provides a way to better categorize this information to make informed decisions moving forward.
Perhaps most importantly, the capturing of this information allows for a closer look at health data management, identifying the holes in current processes and applying guidelines for moving forward. While the point of implementing EHR systems was to streamline data management across the industry, some solutions are still falling short. By identifying the shortfalls and improving upon the standards, intended benefits overall should be readily identified in the future.