The Biggest mistake some Health IT Executives will make this year

Now that the Interim Final Rule for "Meaningful Use" has been published and the reporting requirements are clearer, what is the biggest mistake one can make this year? Go out there, buy and implement an EHR solution! No, I didn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Nor was there any "extra something" in my coffee! Let me explain.
The basic premise of "meaningful use" is to achieve two things.
1. Improve Quality of Care
2. Reduce Cost of Care.

Now, there will be some EHR solutions out there that will satisfy your government mandated reporting requirements. The question is, will that help reduce the cost of care or improve quality of care? The answer is a resounding NO! Why? The EHR solution, web-based or otherwise, is only going to add another silo of data in your organization. It's not going to show you the "correlation" between "Central Line infection rates" and the cost of care. It's not going to show you the correlation between "Average waiting time" and loss of revenue associated with patients leaving without being seen. Nor will it be able to historically report on the "Percentage of patients given smoking cessation counseling" and how that has improved "quality of care".

So, blindly implementing an EHR slution is only going to add another department that you have to manage. Another silo, collecting data, without producing any "meaningful use" for your organization.

So, while you are in the process of evaluating EHR software, consider the TCO and ROI for those investments. Consider how you can leverage the data being generated to add profitability to the business. Consider how you can leverage your existing data and add some "real intelligence" to the business.