STAMFORD, CT – Healthcare providers believe in the importance of reform, but are concerned about the toll it could take on their businesses and patients, according to a survey by IVANS, Inc.

According to the Stamford, Conn.-based provider of healthcare connectivity and services, more than half of the providers who took the survey believe the billions of dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) earmarked for healthcare information technology will have little to no success in encouraging HIT adoption.

According to the survey, 72 percent of healthcare providers believe a pay-for-performance model could lead to improved patient outcomes, but 79 percent said it would increase their costs of doing business, most likely due to increased reporting and record-keeping requirements. Providers believe a national health insurance plan would be even less effective, with 60 percent saying it would either increase costs or have no effect at all.

“Providers are diverse and significant attention from the government needs to be placed on addressing their different needs,” said Clare DeNicola, president and CEO of IVANS. “A small nursing home in a rural area will have IT requirements that vary from a multi-facility hospital. The interests and concerns of all involved stakeholders need to be met for a meaningful use of HIT to occur.”

Survey participants also expressed confusion in the marketplace around what the right solution should be and how to pay for it. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed believe electronic health records could have a positive impact on their businesses, but 82 percent cited lack of budget as their biggest challenge in implementing HIT.

Seventeen percent of providers surveyed are participating or planning to participate in a Health Information Exchange over the next 12 months. Without the mechanism to share records among a patient’s caregivers (e.g. via HIEs or similar data exchanges), the value of an EHR is severely restricted, and providers could face reduced payments from Medicare and other payers if a system lacks interoperability.

“While there are many pieces to the healthcare puzzle that still need to be figured out, the use of HIEs and EHRs will create greater information transparency and will play a critical role in whether healthcare reform succeeds or does not,” said DeNicola. “The government needs to get tactical about what qualifies for the funding and what doesn’t as providers are wary to start implementation without this understanding.”