HIMSS Introduces Tool to Measure HIT Value

HIMSS recently announced the launch of the HIMSS Value Score, health care's first international quality measurement for the value of HIT. The Value Score builds off of HIMSS' Value Suite and HIMSS Analytics' Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) and will help health care providers optimize and use IT to improve clinical and financial outcomes, and drive efficiencies in care.

The Value Score is the next generation of several HIMSS-developed standards and resources that have served as the leading HIT adoption models for providers over the last decade. For example, HIMSS Analytics' EMRAM has helped hospitals and clinical practices track and benchmark their EMR adoption and utilization goals since 2005. The HIMSS Health IT Value Suite and Value STEPS, released in 2013, have provided both a framework and vocabulary for providers to articulate their value strategy. Thousands of entries and more than 900 detailed case studies offer strategy, tactics and measures used to document value. C-suite leaders have continually turned to HIMSS for insights and guidance on how to optimally use IT to tackle the challenges of today and prepare for those to come. As the market continues to evolve, the Value Score will give providers a way to look at their entire organization and capture a 360-degree view of how they achieve value beyond the EHR.

"With the move towards value-based care, the international health care community can now look beyond initial adoption and toward a broader, all-encompassing way to measure the clinical and financial value of health IT," says Stephen Lieber, president and CEO of HIMSS. "The Value Score is a combination of HIMSS' core competencies and is the natural next step in the continual evolution towards better care and outcomes for patients and providers."
 
HIMSS developed the guidelines for the Value Score and is currently refining the scoring algorithm across provider organizations in the United States and abroad, including HIMSS' Davies Award winners and small critical access hospitals. The results for this initial pilot group will include actionable data sets and scores.

With over 50 years of experience and access to over one million experts worldwide, HIMSS has long been a trusted source and thought leader in developing a framework for HIT success and accreditation along with bringing the market together on common goals. Upon entering the next phase of technology and innovation, health care will need a new, truly universal standard and model for value—the Value Score will fill that void.

Source: HIMSS