Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records

It doesn't look like we will see the proposed rule from CMS before Christmas. HHS has stuck by their schedule to have the rules defining 'meaningful use' of electronic health record (EHR) systems posted by the end of the year. This rule would implement provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that authorizes incentive payments to EPS and eligible hospitals participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs for adopting and becoming meaningful users of certified EHR technology.

Hopefully, we will see it before the end of the year. As soon as the rule is published I will post it here for your holiday reading. Check back here for updates...

Generally speaking, for purposes of meaningful use, an "eligible professional" is defined in the following ways:

Medicare

A physician as defined in section 1861(r) of the Social Security Act*, which includes the following five types of professionals:

• Doctor of medicine or osteopathy
• Doctor of dental surgery or medicine
• Doctor of podiatric medicine
• Doctor of optometry
• Chiropractor

Medicaid

• Physicians
• Dentists
• Certified nurse-midwives
• Nurse practitioners
• Physician assistants who are practicing in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) or Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) led by a physician assistant

These are the documents we have so far on meaningful use from the various sources at the ONC and CMS:

From ONC:

• In June 2009, ONC staff identified a subset of providers eligible for incentive payments who were likely to have different needs of their EHRs than primary care providers (e.g., specialists and non-physician providers). ONC convened brief calls with representatives from these provider groups to promote a better understanding of how EHRs and meaningful use would impact their work.
  • Summary of 6/09 Comments from Non-physician and Specialist Physician Providers
    

From CMS:

• Details for: Medicare and Medicaid Health Information Technology: Title IV of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
  

From HIT Policy Committee:

• August 14, 2009 meeting
  
  • Meaningful Use Workgroup Update
  • FINAL Meaningful Use Objectives and Measures: 2011-2013-2015
• July 16, 2009 meeting
  
  • Meaningful Use Objectives and Measures: 2011-2013-2015 (early version)
• Summary of Public Comments Received on Draft Meaningful Use Matrix Developed by Meaningful Use Workgroup of Health IT Policy Committee (June 2009)
  

From HIT Standards Committee:

• August 20, 2009 meeting
  • HIT Standards Committee Meaningful Use Measures Data Elements Grid
  • HIT Standards Committee Summary of Clinical Operations Workgroup
  • HIT Standards Committee Privacy & Security Workgroup - Standards Applicable to ARRA Requirements
    

From the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS):

• Observations on "Meaningful Use" of Health Information Technology (6/01/09)
• Report of Hearing on "Meaningful Use" of Health Information Technology (5/18/09)