Michigan is ahead of the national average for adoption of computerized physician order entry, a building block of electronic health records, according to a study released yesterday by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Partnership for Michigan’s Health (a group of state healthcare associations). The study also identified barriers to EHR development, including varying computer systems, a mix of nonstandard data elements, inconsistent code sets and medical vocabularies, the need to promote more e-prescribing and pharmacy integration, and the need for development of unique patient identification solutions. Recommendations to overcome these barriers included supporting development of regional EHRs, encouraging physician buy-in, and identifying common information needed to support patient care and safety. These barriers and solutions echo those identified in HFMA’s recent study Overcoming Barriers to Electronic Health Record Adoption. (Click here to download the HFMA report.)
