As I look forward to EHR in the year 2012, it was suggested to me at HIMSS that we’re going to see an EHR adoption rush starting in August 2012. If you think about the timeline and all the other EHR happenings, I think this very much will be the case.
I saw a tweet (which I can’t find now) which said something to the effect of meaningful use attestation in January of 2012 was as big as all of 2011. I also have read about the mass of meaningful use attestation that happened at the end of 2011. With only having to attest for 90 days it makes sense why so many people waited until the end of 2011 to attest to meaningful use.
I expect we’re going to see the same rush to meaningful use attesation in 2012 as well. However, you don’t just implement and EHR and then start your meaningful use attestation the week after you implement an EHR. In most cases, you need at least a couple months (more in the hospital case) after implementing an EHR to “get your feet under you” and be ready to concern yourself with the meaningful use requirements.
With this in mind, I expect these next 3 months will be critical for EHR vendors that want to fill their Fall EHR sales pipeline. EHR adoption will slow down a bit during summer when doctors head out on vacations. Then, Fall 2012 will start the rush of EHR adoption in order to meet meaningful use requirements in 2012.
Of course, it’s also likely that many doctors will procrastinate their EHR selection process. They’ll wait until Fall and then rush through EHR selection. I think this would be a real tragedy for EHR since selecting the right EHR is the mot important part of the EHR implementation.
There are other variables in the current marketplace like 5010 adoption that will impact adoption. The 5010 mandate disrupted the industry’s cashflow significantly. This in turn, has hurt not only the confidence in technology for health care providers but also the cash flow required for health care providers to put out to begin to adopt.
Those who wait for the rush to adopt should also be ready to scramble to find companies who have the necessary manpower and implementation teams to help facilitate their adoption.
Great additions to the conversation Ty. Did you see that 5010 enforcement has been delayed?
The rush could be a real issue for the top companies having enough man power. I wonder if doctors will change EHR if the one they want most doesn’t have the staff to support all the implementations.
Thank you for sharing with me your link on enforcement delays.
“Adoption’, “enforcement”, and “deadline” are all separate “beasts”. What we saw happen in the last 3-4 months was complete chaos. And will happen again.
Ty,
I agree. Even with the delay 5010 will continue to cause cash flow issues for clinics.
[…] very well during the summer. Maybe this summer won’t actually slow down if many of them are rushing to EHR to meet the meaningful use deadline. Also, for those that mostly just read EMR and HIPAA, I’ve started doing a short […]