AMA Urges Overhaul of Electronic Medical Records

It's no secret that many physicians hate the electronic-medical-records systems they use, saying they are cumbersome, poorly designed and detract from patient care. Amplifying those concerns, the American Medical Association is calling for a major overhaul of EMR systems to make usability and high-quality patient care a higher priority.

"The health system desperately needs working information technology to help support quality care," said AMA President-elect Steven Stack. "The current generation of EMRs and the way they are deployed is not supporting the quality of care we need it to." Dr. Stack blamed the federal government's Meaningful Use program for requiring EMR systems to serve too many functions and forcing the fledgling EMR industry to develop too quickly to respond to users' concerns. The program, which offers hospitals and doctors some $35 billion in incentive payments if they met ambitious timetables, has spurred rapid adoption of EMRs. As of Jan. 1, 2014, more than $19 billion in incentive payments have been distributed to 347,000 eligible hospitals and health-care professionals. But only about 10% of eligible providers have qualified for the next, stricter round of Meaningful Use requirements to date. Doctors and hospitals that haven't adopted EMR systems will face cuts in Medicare reimbursements starting in 2015.