Hospitals Tracking Tech Anew

Electronic health records top a list of 10 technologies hospitals need to watch in 2012, according to a report released today by ECRI Institute.

"Technology is increasingly a top management concern, and is no longer confined to clinical and technical decision making. Themes emerging on our 2012 list reflect ongoing impacts of health-care reform initiatives and new technology developments that emphasize patient-centered care," says Jeffrey C. Lerner, president and CEO of ECRI Institute, in a news release. ECRI, based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., is an independent, not-for-profit organization that focuses on improving health care.

Hospitals need to focus on meeting Stage 2 meaningful-use criteria this year to continue qualifying for federal health IT reimbursements, the organization notes in its report, "ECRI Institute's Top 10 C-Suite Watch List: Hospital Technology Issues for 2012."

The report cites Stage 2 criteria including:

• Increasing the threshold for computerized physician order entry from 30 percent under Stage 1 criteria to 60 percent.
• Requiring that vital signs be recorded electronically for 80 percent of patients, up from 50 percent under Stage 1.
• Recording how the patient prefers to receive communications.
• Enabling Web-based access to inpatient records.

After developing a medical-device integration plan, hospitals will have to determine how they will share the information with health information exchanges, the report notes. "The IT challenges, as well as contractual issues (e.g., with your state or regional health information exchange) related to integration seem unending."

The report is available, with registration, through the ECRI Institute website.