A recent report found health IT to be one of the biggest contributors in successfully treating diabetes in western New York. The report found that over a three-year period, Electronic Health Records, care coordination and health information technology have been instrumental in reducing hospitalizations for diabetic patients, by 26%. Brief highlights:
- 50% of the physicians reported a 5% decline in uncontrolled diabetic patients.
- 25% of the physicians reported an 11% decline in uncontrolled diabetic cases.
- Early EHR adopters prevented 3 hospitalizations for every 100 diabetic patients, highlighting a savings of $600 per patient each year.
Data of 40,000 diabetic patients was used in the research carried out by WNY Beacon, which had procured a $16.1 million grant from HHS in 2010 to improve health outcomes through IT.
Some of the objectives in 2010 included:
- Reduce emergency department visit cost by 5%
- Reduce 30-day readmission rates for specific diabetic patients
- Reduce ambulatory care hospitalization cost
However, there have been some challenges. Instead of increased utilization, the project actually noted a cost increase in 2012, which was attributed to coding trends. Monetizing the value of exchange remains another challenge.
Nevertheless, the numbers from the WNY Beacon project are impressive.
Data sources include 27 hospitals, labs, health agencies, long-term care facilities, SureScripts and radiology centers. e-Prescribing has gone up by 70% in 2 years, while 188,500 care documents have been transmitted from primary care physicians to specialists. Additionally, 550,000 patient consent forms, allowing their physician access to HIE, have also been received.
Mary Reed, a physician from the research division of Kaiser Permanente also thinks EHRs have the potential to reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
“As more and more people use EHRs, we’ll learn more about their effects on healthcare practice and on downstream outcomes, and who knows, maybe something concrete about costs as well,” Dr. Reed concluded.
Reader Interactions