EHRs Hinder Population Health Progress While MACRA has Potential to Ease Workflow Burden, Doctors Say

Hospitals are gearing up for population health management, according to a new survey by the nonprofit eHealth Initiative, but complex electronic health records systems continue overburdening physicians at the point of care enough to inhibit progress.

eHealth Initiative’s survey of population health trends found that 68.1 percent of healthcare responders had created new roles or hired staff for population health. Also, 68.1 percent said they had begun activities and 76.6 percent had purchased population health or analytics technology, with 72.3 percent anticipating making such investments.

Eighty-three percent of respondents, meanwhile, said they measure success by intermediate outcomes and healthcare processes (72 percent), cost savings (70 percent) and patient satisfaction (70 percent). Thirty-seven percent said they're integrating patient-reported data.