While ICD-10 may have seen a year-long extension — a move that pleased some providers while frustrated others — another crucial technology upgrade in the healthcare industry is already underway. Starting this year, any clinics and medical practices that adopted stage 1 of EHR meaningful use back in 2011 can now begin making the movie to stage 2, ensuring that their chiropractic documentation software is brought even further up-to-date. But how are providers faring with this adoption so far?

EHR Intelligence recently spoke with Randy Hountz, Principal Advisor-Operations for the Indiana-based regional extension center Purdue Healthcare Advisors, which is overseeing the jump to stage 2 among local clinicians. In a Q&A, Hountz addressed some of the successes and challenges being faced among providers as more practices begin implementing stage 2 meaningful use into their workflow.

According to Hountz, the primary factor in deciding how well or difficult a clinic will be able to accommodate stage 2 depends on their size. While larger organizations — such as hospitals — may have greater resources to expend on properly implementing stage 2 guidelines into their care systems, smaller providers will likely have to do a little more work in ensuring the best compatibility for their chiropractic EHR. One of the major impediments facing the industry is how taking the time to implement and adjust to meaningful use stage 2 may impede a practice's workflow.

"For larger providers, they're going to make the workflow fairly straightforward for their providers or staff," said Hountz. "It's going to be a concern for small providers and it's going to depend on the software."

Smaller clinics are encouraged to seek out the best chiropractic EHR software in order to help them more easily make the transition to stage 2 without interrupting their regular workflow in the process.