A new report on the challenges presented by the first stage of Meaningful Use (MU) compliance provides a good road map for healthcare providers making the transition to new HIT.

But, whether intentionally or not, it also offers a glimpse at just how much new responsibility it requires providers to assume in order to make the jump successfully.

Released by Virginia-based CSC, a technology consulting company, Meaningful Use for Eligible Professionals: The Top Ten Challenges (PDF), succinctly walks providers through the most important steps they’ll need to take in order to achieve Stage 1 MU. From the need to capture and sort data, to implementing and managing new workflows, to developing new processes for making and supporting clinical decisions, the report offers up a thorough template for providers to follow.

But what caught our eye was the “back end” planning and training that needs to take place in order for the transition to new HIT to succeed in the long term.

The point might best be made by skimming through the “advice” or “recommendation” that follows nearly every item: “It will also require training the physicians or other users on how to accurately enter patient data. . . Workflows should always include the provider taking the final responsibility for patient record entries made as a result of workflows and in some cases may need to manage the workflow alone. . . .An even more effective level will be realized if providers are involved with system planning and rollout. . . . Every ordering provider should gain an understanding of how CPOE works and how to use it, and enforce its use. Practices are also encouraged to integrate order transmittal and tracking when implementing CPOE. . . .Other challenges . . .to resolve are: a) pharmacies that are still not equipped to receive and process e-prescriptions (40 percent of independents), and b) current Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) prohibitions of e-prescribing controlled substances.”

No doubt, many providers are already well down the road to mastering the many issues involved in the transition to HIT. But as policymakers forge ahead in developing new standards and regulations, they would do well to remember that fundamental, broad-based change, despite the best intentions of all involved, still tends to come slowly.

Jeff Rowe blogs daily at Priming the Pump.