Beyond EHRs - Phase 2

Today's post focuses on the second of a 5-phase continuum. If you're joining the discussion today for the first time, please refer back to our July 20th post for the big-picture overview.

Phase 2 of the "beyond EHRs" continuum, use your EHR to communicate electronically, is where we first step outside our new EHRs. It's highly probable that you went into EHRs thinking, "I'm only doing this because I have to." And if you loved your paper charts you may have asked yourself , "Why can't I keep using my records as they are? They're perfectly legible. I know where everything is. I don't lose files." Unfortunately, that rationale reflects a provider-centric model of healthcare, a model that has failed financially and technologically.

The reason the government mandated Electronic Health Records was not so you'd have neater files or a computer versus a wall of charts. Electronic records are the precursor to electronic sharing. So, let's say you've got your EHRs, you've attested to Meaningful Use and been paid already for Year 1. You're feeling good about your progress ... and so you should. But you're thinking you're just about there. "I just need to keep doing what I'm doing. A few more years, I'll have my $44K. All good."

Well, there's more. It's never really been about the stimulus money. That's just an incentive, a catalyst for change. What it's really all about - and always has been - is ushering in a different way altogether of doing healthcare. As individual providers, we can't get the whole picture for any patient. We have to work in teams. We have to share information, insights, opinions. Each member of a team must contribute expertise such that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. That's what drives better patient outcomes.

So, your task in "beyond EHRs - phase 2" is to start communicating electronically with other providers. Your local Primary Care Physicians need to be your top priority. Sharing CCDs (or Summary of Care Records) is the mandate. That's what the Direct Project and the DIRECT standard are all about. And our National Eye Care Communications Project is all about helping you accomplish this step. If your EHRs are Direct-enabled, these communications are not difficult. However, there's a considerable maze to get through even to know where to begin. Join us in this project. We're here to help.

Alistair Jackson, M.Ed.

Jim Grue, O.D.