Meaningful Use Of An Electronic Health Record

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 identified three main components of meaningful use: the use of a certified EHR in a meaningful manner, electronic exchange of health information to improve quality of care, and the use of technology to submit clinical outcomes and quality measures (Heath Resources and Service Administration, n.d.). ARRA includes many measures to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, with the “Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act” being an example. The HITECH Act is an effort led by Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) in support of electronic health records and meaningful use (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC 2016). According to Galbraith (2013), the HITECH Act aims to promote the use of EHRs by providing over $27 billion in monetary incentives for health care providers that become “meaningful users”. CMS uses these core objectives to determine if a health care provider has satisfied meaningful use and is eligible to receive financial incentives (Galbraith, 2013).

A: The term Meaningful use is using certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to maintain privacy and secure patient health information, by improving care coordination, population, and public health, help patients and family to be engaged in

The American Recovery and Revitalization Act of 2009 brought meaningful use of patient records to help increase the improvement of patient care. With certified electronic health record technology, one goal is to improve quality, safety, efficiency, and to decrease health discrepancies. Some more goals are to get patient and family engaged in their care, continue to improve care coordination, and maintain privacy and security of patient health information. In order to achieve these goals, healthcare facilities must continue to stress the importance of patient engagement and to use the patient portal for healthcare information (“Meaningful Use Definition,” n.d.). Patient engagement is defined as a person’s continued participation in dealing

Meaningful use is used in the EHR system, and it is used to improve quality and safety of healthcare. It improves privacy and can benefit health care management care. The facility that I work at is in the first stage of even getting an EHR system they do not receive any incentive’s, because it is a long-term care faculty. If I was working in a hospital and they wanted to have a meaningful use, they would need 14 core objectives, 5/10 from a set menu of objectives and 15 quality measures.(HEALTHIT.GOV

“Meaningful use is the set of standards defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) incentive programs that governs the use of the EHR and allows eligible providers and hospitals to earn incentive payments by meeting certain criteria” (Policy making…,2013). Eligible providers include doctors of medicine, osteopathy, oral surgery, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, and

Meaningful Use engages patients and families in their health care, improve care coordination, improve population and public health and maintain privacy and security ("CMS," 2015, para. 1). Healthcare providers must show CMS that they are using their EHRs in ways that can positively affect the care of their patients. To do this, providers must meet all of the requirements established by CMS for this program and be able to demonstrate Meaningful Use of their EHRs to receive incentive reimbursement. The Meaningful Use program is divided into 3 stages which span 2011 (data capture and sharing), 2013 (advanced clinical processes) and 2015 (improved outcomes).

(ONC) is to coordinate “national efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information … to improve health care” (Health and Human Services [HHS], n.d., website). However, sharing confidential information found in the electronic health record (EHR) for research and quality improvement potentiate legal, financial and ethical challenges.

Meaningful Use is the improvement of the way we deliver healthcare with the use HER. Several areas of patient care can be improved including how engaged the patient’s family can be in the healthcare process, better outcomes in the clinical setting and the empowerment of the patient to see more than they could in a paper chart.

In July 2010 CMS Centers of Medicaid and Medicare services published a final rule which established three phases of the EHR Incentive Program. The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program provides financial incentives for the “meaningful use” (MU) of certified Electronic Health Record technology to improve patient care. 36$ billion was authorized.

In addition to the core elements, providers will have to choose any five of the ten additional tasks to implement in 2011-2012. Some examples of these might be clinical lab results, patient appointment reminders and drug-formulary checks. This gives the providers a chance to choose their own path toward full EHR implementation and meaningful use. Legislation ties payments to the achievement of advances in health care processes and outcomes. The regulations are specific as to when providers will have to use particular functions in order to be considered meaningful users. The meaningful use rule acknowledges the urgency of adopting the electronic health record and recognizes the challenges it will pose on all providers.

Meaningful use is the utilization of electronic medical records in an aim to achieve a higher level of patient care, that focuses on decreasing health disparities by improving the overall safety, increasing the efficiency, and surpassing the current quality of present-day healthcare. Meaningful use is accomplishing these goals by focusing on improving the coordination of care amongst interdisciplinary teams and other providers, ensuring adequate privacy and security protections for personal health information, and encouraging patients and their families to play active roles in the care they receive.

Meaningful Use and Physician Quality Reporting System has made the medical profession change the way medicine is practiced. Meaningful use (MU), in a health information technology (HIT) context, defines MU as a United States (US) government standard for using electronic health records (EHR) and for exchanging patient clinical information between providers in the health-care field, between health insurance providers and healthcare providers, and between clinicians and patients. The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is a voluntary Center for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) Program. The PQRS program urges health-care providers and practices to report data on practices in health care. MU and PQRS is said to lead to better care for patients or Medicare.

Legislation such as the Health Information Technology for Economics and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act promoted meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) to provide better patient outcomes (CDC, n.d.). Meaningful use is regulated by CMS and National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and is based on five goals including: improving quality, safety, efficiency and reducing health disparities, engage patients and families in their health, improve care coordination, improve population and public health,

Meaningful use refers to the adoption of healthcare management technology referred to as the electronic-health record whose primary function is enhancing the quality, efficiency, safety, as well as reduction in health related disparities. In addition, meaningful use seeks to improve the level of care coordination, public health management and population. Undoubtedly, this aspiration encompasses the increased engagement of the patients as well their families while maintaining the safety and confidentiality of the medical information of the patient. From this backdrop, this paper shall discuss the legal, ethical and financial issues that may flow from the legislation (adoption) of meaningful use.

Electronic health records (EHR’s) have many advantages, but there are plenty of disadvantages. EHR’s were created to manage the many aspects of healthcare information. Medical professionals use them daily and most would feel lost without it. Healthcare organizations were encouraged to adopt EHR’s in 2009 due to the fact that a bill passed known as The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). “The HITECH Act outlines criteria to achieve “meaningful use” of certified electronic records. These criteria must be met in order for providers to receive financial incentives to promote adoption of EHRs as an integral part of their daily practice”, (Conrad, Hanson, Hasenau & Stocker-Schneider, 2012).