A gathering storm of federal regulations, Op-ed from AMEDnews.com

Overlapping and sometimes conflicting requirements on physicians will prove overwhelming to many practices unless they are changed.

Editorial. Posted April 30, 2012.

A storm is brewing, and many physicians are worried that they won’t be able to batten down the hatches in time.

Physicians are right in the center of the paths of multiple, colliding fronts in the form of more federal requirements, in particular under the Medicare program. The sheer size and timing of the increased regulatory burdens are raising serious concerns that some practices will founder when those rules hit them.

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Preparing for just one of these new requirements is a significant undertaking for a physician practice, especially a small one. Upcoming requirements that doctors adopt and use electronic health records systems, prescribe medications electronically, report quality information to the government, and upgrade their claims reporting systems each demand significant time and resources that are hard to come by for many practices.

But what will happen when these requirements all kick in at about the same time? Physicians and their staffs will be struggling to meet overlapping deadlines, tackle implementation problems that arise and resolve conflicts among mandates that in some cases were authorized under different pieces of legislation. They will be doing all of that while worrying about the next scheduled Medicare pay formula cuts and deep, automatic deficit reduction cuts that are set to slash physician rates even more.
Amid all the complexity and confusion, some physicians might not even realize how soon the trouble might arrive.

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NIST Releases Technical Guidance for Evaluating Electronic Health Records

NIST Releases Technical Guidance for Evaluating Electronic Health Records

From NIST Tech Beat: March 20, 2012
Jennifer Huergo      

An important aspect of any product is how easily someone can use it for its intended purpose, also known as usability. Electronic health records (EHR) that are usable have the potential to improve patient care, which is why the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has outlined formal procedures for evaluating the usability of EHR systems.

NIST releases EHR usability guidelines

Posted by:Anne Steciw

Some critics of the meaningful use EHR incentive program argue that health care providers wouldn’t need incentives to adopt electronic health records if EHR usability would improve. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published an EHR usability toolkit last year to help providers assess how well an EHR system supports them in delivering safe, effective and efficient care to patients.

And now the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is getting into the game by releasing technical guidance for evaluating EHR usability. The guidance is aimed at EHR developers, with an emphasis on a user-centered approach to the development of EHR systems.