A new report from Sage Growth Partners found nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of healthcare executives believe EHRs have failed to deliver numerous critical value-based care tools. And between 60 and 75 percent of surveyed providers are looking for VBC solutions outside their EHR.
The research for the report included online interviews with 100 healthcare executives, such as CIOs, CNOs, CEOs, COOs and CFOs. Sage Growth Partners also conducted in-depth interviews with six healthcare leaders.
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As the industry shifts away from a fee-for-service model, healthcare organizations have much to gain from value-based care initiatives. In fact, 76 percent of respondents have realized ROI from such VBC efforts.
Yet they still face various challenges that prevent them from reaching their goals. According to respondents, the top five hurdles standing in the way of value-based care include EHR interoperability, data analytics to support risk, coordinating stakeholders, patient engagement and social determinants of health.
Digging deeper, respondents said there’s a gap between their value-based care needs and what their EHR can do. For instance, 70 percent of executives said they need timely integration of clinical and financial data. Yet only 48 percent are satisfied with their current capabilities.
Other areas of need include care coordination and population health analytics.
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Furthermore, survey participants noted that EHRs promised certain functionalities but didn’t deliver on them. Seventy-six percent said EHRs pledged to lower costs, but haven’t done so. Executives also said the technology has failed to deliver on promised physician satisfaction, patient satisfaction and improved population health management tools.
However, they noted that EHRs have delivered better clinical outcomes, strategic improvements and ease of use.
Though there are clear limitations and frustrations regarding electronic health records, 56 percent of respondents said they’re somewhat satisfied with their EHR overall. Another 18 percent noted that they’re highly satisfied. However, that number dropped when participants were asked about their EHR’s value-based care functions. Only 46 percent said they’re somewhat satisfied in this regard, and 7 percent said they’re highly satisfied.
Still, 65 percent of respondents indicated that they’re somewhat/highly unlikely to change their EHR vendor in the next three years. This, as the report notes, is likely due to the hefty cost of the technology.
Instead of relying solely on EHRs, executives admitted to turning to other solutions to get the value-based care functions they need. Respondents are using non-EHR solutions for the following purposes: risk stratification (45 percent of executives); data aggregation (41 percent); quality program optimization (59 percent); patient engagement (44 percent); population health management analytics (40 percent); and social determinants of health (32 percent).
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