No abstract

Fewer than 9% of US hospitals had basic EHR systems as of 2008. The HITECH Act funded a multi-billion-dollar investment to close this gap requiring standards known as meaningful use (MU). The study was undertaken to assess whether this investment achieved the stated aims of MU; EHR adoption, lower cost and higher quality. The study is across-sectional, retrospective design; it employed two cohorts, MU vs. non-MU hospitals. Publicly reported, risk adjusted data from 4,221 hospitals (95%) on clinical, cost and safety metrics were analysed. The findings: EHR adoption by hospitals responded positively in response to incentives, rising from 8% to 55%. Quality outcomes showed 21,000 fewer deaths (p < 0.05) between the three clinical conditions (heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia). The HITECH Act had a positive return on investment with lower hospital cost per discharge of $327 (p < 0.05). The study results suggest hospitals with EHRs' that met MU standards demonstrate statistically significant mortality and cost improvement.