Health delivery, finance, policy and government officials consider the adoption of IT and electronic health records to be the most effective strategies for improving efficiency and the quality of care, Modern Healthcare reports.
The Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey asked 214 respondents to identify the most important mechanisms to improve care. According to the survey, the highest percentage of respondents -- 66% -- said that IT and EHR adoption are the top priorities for improving efficiency, while 59% selected public reporting of provider performance on quality measures and 51% selected financial incentives for quality of care, such as pay for performance. The survey's respondents were allowed to choose more than one method for enhancing efficiency and care.
The survey also found that:
- 75% supported the mandatory reporting of medical errors;
- 70% said the federal government should support providers' IT investments;
- 60% said reported medical errors should be publicized;
- 58% said health plans and insurers should back IT expansion; and
- 7% said the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 sufficiently reduces medical errors (Evans, Modern Healthcare, 7/27).