Meaningful Use
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) was signed into law in February 2009. The act allocates $19 billion for hospitals and physicians who demonstrate “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHR). The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) will coordinate the HITECH program.
Under the law, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in concert with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology have created a new program and released final rules for demonstrating “meaningful use” and applying for incentive payments. Provided below are responses to common questions on Stage 1 meaningful use and EHR incentive payments. Responses are based on the CMS rule. However, this is not intended to be official guidance. We encourage you to work with CHITREC to make sure you, your practice or hospital qualifies for incentives.
Meaningful Use IS healthcare transformation
Meaningful Use is defined as:
A. Use of a certified EHR in a meaningful manner (ex: clinical documentation, e-prescribing, etc.)
B. Use of certified EHR technology for electronic exchange of health information
C. Use of certified EHR technology to submit clinical quality and other measures.
Additional Resources
Medical Incentive Calculators
(Click here if you know your average annual Medicare allowed charges)
(Click here if you do not know your average annual Medicare allowed charges)