The Meaningful Use program is at a critical inflection point. On one hand, the payers could jump on the MU bandwagon, follow Medicare’s example and demand provider MU attestation.
On the other hand, they could throw private practice a bone and help them weather the storm until MU goes away or loses its teeth. Let me explain.
Payers could take the easy money and penalize according to the upcoming ACA “adjustment” schedule. Lots of people think this is inevitable. This would certainly provide an easy way to increase payer revenue and is as simple as letting the practices [continue] to do all the work.
However, this would be incredibly short-sighted.
Meaningful use, as things stand in 2014, has not been shown to improve patient care. Indeed, it is common for Stage 1 attesting MDs to abandon the program during Stage 2, with many doctors citing lack of efficacy of the program. Stage 3 MU is projected to have even worse results.
What this tells me is that the stress and time-cost of MDs and their staff is not worth the benefits of Meaningful Use. Don’t get me wrong – there are some great things in the MU guidelines, and we are implementing them in the software we create, but they are overshadowed by the onerous, less-effective 5% and it’s all or nothing. There is no MU wiggle-room. These days you have to have real grit and determination to stay in private practice, no matter your specialty.
Without financial support or legislative reform, Meaningful Use will eventually drive independent doctors out of business.
That’s bad news for payers.
