Meaningful Use
In efforts to reform the United States healthcare system and create a nationally unified data exchange system the federal government has established an incentive program to eligible professionals and hospitals. The federal government has turned to certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to help facilitate the process of broadening health IT infrastructures. The federal government views EHR system used in meaningful ways as the key to reforming the healthcare systems. Meaningful use of the EHR systems can also improve the overall quality of healthcare, insure patient safety, as well as reduce the cost of healthcare to individuals (Bigalke & Morris, 2010, p. 116).
The responsibility of employing the new EHR Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs has been given to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. CMS established and launched standards and managed the implementation specifications. CMS also oversaw the certification criteria, including the certification process for the EHR technology. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also insured the safety of the patients by establishing privacy and security protections under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act (Burchill, 2010, p. 232).
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provided incentive payments to eligible professionals and hospitals that are determined to be meaningful users of a certified EHR program. According to an article by Jones, Heaton, Friedberg, and Schneider (2011) incentives totals may add up to $27 billion dollars between the years 2011-2016. Implementing electronic health record systems (EHR) is simply not enough to qualify for incentive payments, qualified healthcare professionals and hospitals must also be able to demonstrate meaningful use of the technology. The article also states that while meaningful use incentives will be paying a variety of
The responsibility of employing the new EHR Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs has been given to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. CMS established and launched standards and managed the implementation specifications. CMS also oversaw the certification criteria, including the certification process for the EHR technology. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also insured the safety of the patients by establishing privacy and security protections under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act (Burchill, 2010, p. 232).
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provided incentive payments to eligible professionals and hospitals that are determined to be meaningful users of a certified EHR program. According to an article by Jones, Heaton, Friedberg, and Schneider (2011) incentives totals may add up to $27 billion dollars between the years 2011-2016. Implementing electronic health record systems (EHR) is simply not enough to qualify for incentive payments, qualified healthcare professionals and hospitals must also be able to demonstrate meaningful use of the technology. The article also states that while meaningful use incentives will be paying a variety of
References: Lenert, L., & Sundwall, D. N. (2012). Public Health Surveillance and Meaningful Use Regulations: A Crisis of Opportunity. American Journal Of Public Health, 102(3), e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300542