In the chase to implement EMRs and meet the deadlines for attestation for Meaningful Use, the real reason behind the requirements seems to get lost in some healthcare organizations. Those numerators and denominators represent people – patients with real medical needs that simply don’t want to be a number or a faceless statistic. As the pressure to manage population health with Accountable Care increases as well, we need to remind ourselves that we are creating all of these technology solutions, tracking the metrics and reporting them to prove that patients are getting improved outcomes.
No one wants to be just a number in a computer system. A cancer survivor is an important statistic, but behind the statistic is a real person that survived a terrifying experience and often a lengthy encounter with the healthcare system. A diabetic or asthmatic enrolled in a chronic care management program to meet regulatory mandates is also a person struggling with a faltering economy, and simply trying to live a normal life. Compassion must exist in addition to computer systems – they are only tools to engage and assist patients. People don’t want to be “put into the computer” but treated as individuals and, more importantly, have the healthcare system treat their needs. Doctors and nurses are very concerned that the drive to technology will reduce the already small amount of time allocated to them for real patient interactions.
As we go digital in healthcare, let’s not simply talk about patient-centric systems but constantly evaluate whether we are meeting that standard. At some point, most of us will have an encounter with the healthcare system and we will want to walk away with a positive experience. Let’s work to keep the focus on making that patient satisfaction statistic more than a number but a good memory for a person. Let’s put “meaning” back into Meaningful Use.
