Jamie Kelly RE: AHA Reports BPOC Adoption Survey Results

American Hospital Association Reports BPOC Adoption Survey Results

To gauge the extent of health IT use among U.S. hospitals and better understand the barriers to further adoption, the American Hospital Association (AHA) surveyed hospitals in fall 2006. The results provide the most complete picture of hospital IT use currently available. The survey asked about use of EHRs and other specific kinds of health IT, financing of health IT systems, barriers to greater use, and involvement in arrangements to share clinical information. More than 1,500 community hospitals — about 31 percent of all U.S. community hospitals — responded to the survey. This sample fairly represents all community hospitals by size, location, and teaching status. This is the AHA’s second survey of hospital health IT use; the first was conducted in spring 2005.

The survey asked about use of a select group of applications that support the care process, but are not a direct part of the EHR. These technologies included bar-coding, which has multiple clinical and administrative functions, telemedicine, and administrative systems.

The survey revealed that more than half of all hospitals have adopted bar-coding technologies for at least one purpose. Bar-coding technologies have created significant safety benefits by matching patients and their drugs before they are administered to ensure that the right medication is given to the right patient, in the right dose, and at the right time. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed had fully or partially implemented bar-coding for pharmaceutical administration in 2006, a small increase over 2005. Hospitals also reported increased use of bar-coding for labeling lab specimens, identifying patients, and tracking pharmaceuticals throughout the facility.

The survey also found that some hospitals are beginning to use radio frequency identification (RFID), a new technology for identifying and tracking items. This technology is at an early stage, with almost 10 percent
of hospitals having fully or partially implemented it in both 2005 and 2006.

Source: American Hospital Association. Continued Progress: Hospital Use of Information Technology 2007
Link: http://www.aha.org/aha/content/2007/pdf/070227-continuedprogress.pdf