“The Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the availability and utilization of metrics more than a year after the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, (facility) became the first Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center to implement the new electronic health record (new EHR) system. An integral component of health care operations, EHRs enable healthcare organization to generate metrics to ‘inform their clinical practice patterns and to improve care and reduce safety risks…'”
“The OIG found that facility gaps in available metrics due to the new EHR transition impaired the facility’s ability to measure and act on issues of
- organizational performance,
- quality and patient safety, and
- access to care…”
“The OIG identified multiple factors contributing to the significant gap in metrics available to the facility following go-live. Challenges with the new EHR’s metrics included the following factors:
- Cerner’s failure to deliver metrics reports,
- New EHR’s metrics could not be assessed prior to go-live,
- New EHR’s metrics utility was impaired, and
- Training deficits with new EHR metrics.
VHA-generated metrics using new EHR data also created challenges:
- VHA resources were insufficient for generating new EHR metrics,
- VHA metrics using new EHR data were not validated and unavailable, and
- VHA changed metrics required from the facility…”
“The OIG made two recommendations to the Deputy Secretary related to evaluating gaps in new EHR metrics and the factors affecting the availability of metrics and taking action as warranted…”
Read the full 50-page report here.
Source: Deficits with Metrics Following Implementation of the New Electronic Health Record at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington – June 1, 2022. VA OIG.
