Meaningful use will slow docs down: MGMA survey

Meeting the 25 meaningful-use criteria required to receive the financial incentives contained in the federal stimulus law will result in reduced physician productivity, according to 67.9% of those who responded to a Medical Group Management Association member survey released March 4.

With one being "very easy" and five being "very difficult," the survey also asked on a one-to-five scale how easy or difficult certain proposed requirements would be to fulfill. According to the 353 respondents (out of 445) who answered the question, the most difficult requirement would be using a certified electronic health record to provide at least 10% of all patients with electronic access to their health information within 96 hours of the information being available. That requirement received a 3.72 difficulty rating with only 14 respondents saying meeting the requirement would be very easy, 90 saying it would be difficult and 99 saying it would be very difficult.