Top Five EHR Adoption Barriers and the VAR Solution

Meaningful Use Lacks DefinitionAlthough the federal government has provided some guidance on what is termed “meaningful use” criteria, final requirements are not expected until the fall of this year. That leaves healthcare providers at an impasse. The best course of action? Wait for now, and be sure to brush up on existing requirements to serve as a trusted advisor to your customer.

Networks NonexistentA new report from PricewaterhouseCooperspoints to the need and nonexistence of a national healthcare information superhighway to enable the exchange of data between providers and help make meaningful use a reality. VARs that provide networking hardware, services and support as well as healthcare and unified communications expertise stand to win big as massive roll-out occurs.

Shortage of Skilled StaffToday’s market lacks pros who know how to integrate technology into the clinical, operational and administrative practices of the health care sector, according to PwC. The U.S. federal government predicts a shortfall of 50,000 health IT staff, and that means VARs with healthcare knowledge and experience can fill the gap.

M&A Healthcare Activity Worries ProvidersCIOs surveyed by PwC are jittery about the readiness of vendors in the space. They point to M&A activity among EHR and IT healthcare vendors and the lack of knowledge by health information exchanges (HIE) about meaningful use itself. To allay this fear, VARs need to become experts in the market-build a vertically focused team with extensive knowledge, and it will pay dividends.

Can the Networks Support the Data?Today’s data explosion is driven by many industries, but healthcare records and imaging are fueling a big part of the growth. Healthcare providers are worried about the complex networking capabilities and their ability to handle the 24×7 influx of massive amounts of data and the disaster recovery plans needed to support that data. VARs play a pivotal role in the networking and disaster recovery markets, so smart VARs will use their knowledge to close the deal.