Panel Offers Initial Criteria for Defining “Meaningful Use”
June 16, 2009
Source: www.ihealthbeat.org

Today, a Health IT Policy Committee work group released its initial recommendations for defining "meaningful use" of electronic health records, Health Data Management reports.

The federal economic stimulus law requires hospitals and physicians to demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. Although the work group's recommendations do not include a formal definition of meaningful use, they offer 22 objectives for EHRs by 2011. The objectives call for qualified EHRs to:
• Allow patients to access clinical information;
• Comply with state and federal privacy, security and data sharing regulations;
• Document patient progress and provide clinical summaries;
• Exchange critical information with other care providers;
• Implement drug interaction safeguards;
• Send patient reminders about follow-up and preventive care; •
Submit immunization and laboratory data to relevant public health registries; and
• Use computerized physician order entry systems to transmit prescriptions.

Future Objectives

The work group also released a matrix detailing objectives for 2011, 2013 and 2015. The group plans to refine their recommendations for 2011 and 2013 within three months.

In addition, the group released an "achievable vision," which calls for EHR systems to help reduce cardiac arrest, medical errors and preventable hospitalizations by 2015 (Goedert, Health Data Management, 6/16).

Comments

 Paul Tang -- co-chair of the work group, and vice president and chief medical information officer at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation -- said the meaningful use recommendations currently emphasize health outcomes over software. He said the definition will shift from performance measurement to improved outcomes by 2015. National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal added that today's discussions on meaningful use are the "beginning of a conversation that is going to last for some time" (Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 6/16).

Next Steps

The policy committee will issue final recommendations on meaningful use to HHS and CMS. Under the federal stimulus law, HHS will publish an interim final rule by the end of 2009, after which CMS will develop a formal definition to support incentive programs (Health Data Management, 6/16).