Meaningful Use of an EHR
Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, included within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, physicians can qualify for up to $44,000 in Medicare bonus incentives if they demonstrate “meaningful use” of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. Beginning in 2015, physicians who elect not to use an EHR will be penalized, starting with a 1% Medicare fee reduction. Those who do not adopt an EHR after 2017 will face a 3% Medicare fee reduction.
The Recovery Act specifies three main components of Meaningful Use:
- The use of a certified EHR in a meaningful manner (e.g. e-Prescribing)
- The use of certified EHR technology for electronic exchange of health information to improve quality of health care
- The use of certified EHR technology to submit clinical quality and other measures.
The requirements of Meaningful Use -- to qualify for incentive payments -- were released in July of 2010. The final rule definitively outlines all the specifics of Stage 1 Meaningful Use and Clinical Quality Measure Reporting to receive the incentive payments in 2011 and 2012 and can be located here.
Hielix has been working with provider organizations for several years now to optimize their Electronic Health Record (EHR) solutions. Over that time we have built national expertise in the adoption of electronic health records and the path towards achieving meaningful use. We currently participate on HiMSS’ ARRA Ambulatory Workgroup developing tools that physician practices use to select an appropriate EHR and achieve Meaningful Use. Through October 2010, we have provided workshops and seminars educating physicians and practice administrators on the requirements of the HITECH act to over 8,000 individual participants, and are scheduled to present to approximately 1,000 physicians and practice managers every month through the remainder of 2010.
In an effort to share best practices, we host and participate in events educating physicians and practice administrators on the requirements of the HITECH Act.
Hielix provides our clients with expertise in the following EHR areas:
- Independent, impartial third party institutional knowledge necessary to identify the appropriate solution
- Aligning the diverse wants and needs of stakeholders
- Experts in the CMS definition of “Meaningful Use”
- Developers of uniquely appropriate solutions including assistance with vendor selection
- Integration of legacy systems with EHR technology
- Creators of powerful EHR solutions with a positive return on investment
- Experts in the Federal HITECH incentive program for physicians and hospitals
- Experts in linking Medicaid and Medicare with new EHR systems
If you are interested in learning more about the impacts of implementing electronic health records and the challenges for achieving Meaningful Use, click here view out our discussion on Meaningful Use at CompTIA.
