Meaningful Use

Meaningful use is a qualification to receive federal funding for health information technology, specifically, the use of electronic health records. According to the provisions of the Healthcare Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), healthcare organizations that have achieved meaningful use by 2011 will be eligible for incentive payments, and those who have failed to achieve that standard by 2015 may be penalized.

 
Delaware REC first to hit EHR go-live target
February 20, 2013 |
Roberta Mullin
Beth Schindele, director of the Delaware Regional Extension Center, discusses its early achievements and future plans for financial sustainability.
More
Is an EHR backlash brewing?
February 19, 2013 |
Tom Sullivan
Both the phrase and a Twitter hashtag pertain to the current firestorm around electronic health records, the vendors, and the meaningful use incentive program.
More
Black Book says MU 'created artificial market' for immature EHRs
February 19, 2013 |
Erin McCann
A surprising number of healthcare organizations are dissatisfied enough with their EHR to consider switching vendors, according to a new report. Stage 2 of meaningful use is not likely to change that either.
More
Oregon's ACO experiment TBD, with HIT
February 15, 2013 |
Anthony Brino
Oregon's redesigned Medicaid program has been called "an accountable care organization on steroids," because of its ambitious savings and quality improvement goals. As researchers look to Oregon for a sense of how ACOs will perform nationwide, information technologies will be one of the key factors in how Oregon ACOs fare.
More
AHIMA's 4 suggestions to ONC on clinical documentation
February 14, 2013 |
Mike Miliard
Industry association tells ONC committee that it is "crucial to address data quality and record integrity now before health information exchanges become widespread."
More
APCDs in demand under health reform, HIEs
February 13, 2013 |
Anthony Brino
State-based all payer claims databases have the potential to inform consumers while helping reform healthcare delivery and payment, and some are being integrated with HIEs.
More
HIEs top hiring need: IT pros
February 13, 2013 |
Diana Manos
A new survey published by AHIMA and HIMSS found that, among participating organizations, 45 percent are looking to hire health IT professionals. Here's a breakdown of the most sought-after positions.
More
EHR vendors focusing on usability
February 12, 2013 |
Mary Mosquera
After a period of little demand for usable electronic health record systems, current certification programs have vendors concentrating on making EHRs "functional, reliable, convenient and meaningful."
More
Rural hospitals gird for sequestration
February 12, 2013 |
Anthony Brino
With a 2 percent Medicare reimbursement cut set to take effect in March, rural hospitals in particular are bracing for financial woes, even as many prepare for meaningful use, a new report finds.
More
Is iEHR really dead?
February 11, 2013 |
Tom Sullivan
Obituaries have been printed. And there's no question iEHR is entering a new phase, but the overarching goal of creating a single medical record for all DoD and VA patients remains very much alive.
More
Mostashari to EHR makers: Be 'moral and right' or else
February 7, 2013 |
Diana Manos
ONC head Farzad Mostashari, targeting at the few EHR vendors that don't play fair, his office will issue more regulation if it has to.
More
CMS and ONC eye agile, lean tactics to improve Stage 3
February 7, 2013 |
Tom Sullivan
The agencies are looking to modern software development tactics to streamline the process of creating and implementing quality measures, promising a better product come meaningful use Stage 3.
More

no_resource_topic_return

Why health IT advances will survive regardless of how SCOTUS rules
June 28, 2012 |
Stephen Martinez, Ph.D.
For starters, the meaningful use funding lives under a different law. But no matter how the justices rule, there will still be considerable uncertainty.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
June 22, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
This Week in Government Health IT ... ACA anxiety while waiting for SCOTUS, AMA on ICD-11, EHR incentives surpass $5.7 billion, and more.
Without ACA, can health reform really continue on course?
June 20, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
The abundance of optimism about how little the Supreme Court's ruling on ACA will hinder health reform is making a pessimist of me.
5 EHR considerations for the ICD-10 conversion
June 19, 2012 |
David Lareau

The proposed delay gives health entities to better align their EHR efforts with the forthcoming code set. Here's what to know now.
A single standard
June 13, 2012 |
Ed Larsen
Ed Larsen looks at the challenges of C-CDA within both meaningful use stage 2 and the Transitions of Care initiative, and comes to "expect ongoing tension between optionality and conformance."
HIMSS to host Twitter chat with Aneesh Chopra May 30
May 24, 2012 |
Cari McLean
The chat will focus on topics that will also be discussed during the Government Health IT conference in June. Here's a sampling of the questions that HIMSS hopes to ask Aneesh during the Twitter chat.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
May 10, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
This Week in Government Health IT: Big Data, meaningful use stage 2 comments, and ICD-10.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
May 3, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
This Week in Government Health IT ... PHI in the cloud, skyrocketing EHR incentive payments, Johns Hopkins on how the ACA promises to improve population health, a Pioneer ACO helping patients manage diseases at home, and more.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
April 26, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
This Week in Government Health IT ... A look at health issues in this week's primary states, MU stage 2 needs more than SMTP, top 5 hurdles to meaningful use, and Big Data Week.
Can EHRs catch up with Facebook?
April 16, 2012 |
Jeff Rowe
Have we gotten EHRs all wrong? Are we off the mark?
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
April 5, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
This Week in Government Health IT ... Public health, meet Big Data. VA and DoD to use open 3M HDD in iEHR, offer it to healthcare community. And HIE wins and woes.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
March 23, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
This Week in Government Health IT: Betting on SCOTUS, PPACA turns two, why EHRs have not improved since 1982, huge HIT strides otherwise, checking with a NwHIN Exchange partner, and the role lobbyists play in health policy.