Government incentives have far from hurt
Federally qualified health centers are now adopting health information technology at higher rates than office-based physicians, according to a new report, but FQHCs' concerns over addressing rising demand with persisting staff shortages remain top of mind.
Government incentives have far from hurt HIT adoption rates at these health centers, with the use of electronic health records increasing 133 percent since 2009, according to the Commonwealth Fund survey of health center officials. Currently, 93 percent of FQHCs have adopted any type of EHR.
However, despite most health centers now having EHRs, a significant number of them (24 percent) still don't qualify for meaningful use incentive payments, survey findings show.
Some 85 percent of centers reported they could perform at least nine of 13 key functions. In comparison, only 48 percent of office-based physicians had adopted a basic EHR system, up from 11 percent in 2006, according to CDC data. Out of those key functions, community health centers were most successful in generating patient diagnosis lists, with 98 percent doing so; entering clinical notes, 92 percent; generating lab results at 90 percent; and electronically prescribing medications at 91 percent.
The lion's share of FQHCs earned low marks in their abilities to send patients reminder notices for regular preventative care or follow-ups (35 percent achieved this ability, up only 1 percent from 2009). Centers also demonstrated weakness in the ability to providers electronic alerts prompting them to provide test results to patients, with nearly half unable to do so.
[See also: Lowest EHR-adopting state launches HIE.]
Despite the still low numbers in a few categories, officials still see the numbers as a success for federally qualified health centers.
"It's encouraging to see how far community health centers have come in their health information technology use," said David Blumenthal, MD, Commonwealth Fund president, in a press release announcing survey findings. "Their progress demonstrates that with concerted investment and support, substantial change is possible. It makes the case for continued investment to make sure these clinics can continue caring for some of our nation’s most vulnerable patients."
Concerns among health center officials were prevalent, however. The majority of FQHCs reported physician shortages that were likely to affect the ability to meet the rise in demand. These concerns have spurred health centers to make investments such as expanding behavioral health services (53 percent); adopting telemedicine and mobile platforms ( 17 percent); and bringing on additional insurance staff (69 percent). Officials say the $1.5 billion in federal funding to assist centers in hiring health providers will help this goal.
