The For Medicare And Medicaid Services

Electronic health records can provide many benefits for providers and their patients, but the benefits depend on how they 're used. Meaningful use is the set of standards defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Incentive Programs that governs the use of electronic health records and allows eligible providers and hospitals to earn incentive payments by meeting specific criteria. The goal of meaningful use is to promote the spread of electronic health records to improve health care in the United States. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provides the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) with the authority to establish

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).

Prior to the federal mandate of EHR, research continued to show the fallacies of the healthcare system like the report published from the Institute of medicine, stating that “medical errors are the 8th leading cause of deaths in the U.S. and cost approximately forty billion dollars a year” (Overview, 2012). This was one of many indicators that healthcare needed to be reformed and in 2009, the president signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or HITECH Act, which mandated that all healthcare providers must comply and begin to transition to electronic medical records (EMR) and demonstrate “meaningful use.” This act set up a timeline, which established that practices and hospitals needed to be up and running with EMR in order to continue receiving reimbursements from federal programs like Medicaid and Medicare.

For over 10 years, all areas of industry have been investing in informational technology (IT). IT offers faster and more proficient care especially for the healthcare industry. Health information technology (HIT) is making significant changes in how care is being delivered and addressed for patients and healthcare workers. HIT includes electronic health records (EHR), personal health records (PHI), electronic prescribing and more. The potential list is endless. HIT provides for more accurate and efficient documentation, prescriptions, and education. The Obama administration came up with an answer to help in HIT by instituting the meaningful use. This paper will discuss the overview of meaningful use, its’ core criteria, and recommendations for additional criteria.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is part of the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA) signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The HITECT Act introduced the concept of ‘meaningful use’ which incentivized the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) for the overall improvement of healthcare. This act authorized payments to qualified provider groups that meet the 'meaning use ' requirements that are paid out over five year. According to data from the National Ambulatory Medical care Survey, 57% of office based physicians’ utilized EHR system as of 2011 and 52% of this physician plan to apply for the meaningful use incentives in same year. This is a 11% increase from the year before.

It is important that we all understand the basics of the Medicare and Medicaid programs as we will all eventually come of age where it is necessary to seek their assistance. The purpose of this paper is to give a brief history of how the program came about, the various plans for each program, issues that affect cost and access to the programs, how the political arena is affected and finally a conclusion with final thoughts on the total information.

A handy electronic health record system can diminish complications scattered all through the VA. This system will allow a modest and efficient ways to record, analyze, and inquire about specific patients with minimal training. Case in point, when a patient transfers from one state to another within the same region, or to another region completely, the information can be extracted, organized, and conveyed electronically. The hospital receiving the electronic record can download the patient’s complete medical history, therefore eradicating the requirement for re-entering the information into their own disconnected system. Electronic data can

To provide a positive impact on the lives of patients (Fuchs, 2014) based on the care that was rendered to them, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented an incentive program in the year of 2011 and provided bonuses to eligible providers (EP) that displayed a meaningful aspect by way of technology, by using electronic health records (EHR). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the Meaningful Use program and an analysis of the implications for nurses. Also, in this paper additional recommendations for Meaningful Use will be discussed.

The main reason institutions are switching to the new technology of exchanging health information is specifically to reduce costs and help improve health care quality. In this case study that is what San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center wanted exactly, to effortlessly exchange patient’s medical information. San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center which is a rural hospital in Alamosa Colorado is one of the many hospitals and providers that can benefit from this change. In 2004 AHRQ signed a contract to the University of Colorado Health and sciences Center, which later on developed a point-of-care inquiry system for four healthcare organizations in the Denver region. The system allowed emergency room clinicians within the four locations to exchange medical data. They were able to sufficiently and rapidly retrieve and send patient medical histories, x-rays, medication lists, and all problem lists. The AHRQ contract also help started the development of the

The goal in healthcare today is to achieve better patient outcomes. Technology is changing daily that affects how patient care is provided. As the world around us continues to move into a more advanced technology based healthcare system incentives are offered to qualifying healthcare entities, provided they are utilizing approved health information technology (IT) to comply with standards set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (Jones, Rudin, Perry, & Shekelle, 2014). Standards such as meaningful use help ensure with the use of electronic health records (EHR) that patients are receiving quality care (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.). This paper will define and discuss the importance and implications of meaningful use relating to healthcare. Several key points will be discussed including an overview of meaningful use, analysis, further recommendations and a conclusion.

Good post Paul. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes the Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Programs and together provide more coverage, better care, and improved health care for all Americans (CMS.gov, 2015). As you stated, many health care facilities and organizations depend on the funding from reimbursements from CMS and in return, these facilities need to meet certain incentive programs and quality measures created by the CMS. Meaningful Use is one such program that required health facilities show that they are committed to integrating electronic health record technology to improve the safety, quality, and efficiency of care while reducing health disparities (HRSA.gov, 2015). The programs

At a time when so many health care organizations were seeing decreased reimbursements, the promise of additional incentive funds to support the bottom line were very tempting. However, many organizations struggled with the implementation of technology and the EHR. Poor workflows and system designs have created in many cases an EHR that is a financial application with a patient added on. This was of great concern for the Joint Commission (TJC), in 2015 they released Sentinel Event Issue #54, that discusses examples of EHR errors that can potentially lead to patient harm as a direct result of technology. The most common concerns reported to the TJC as a result of technology were usability issues, followed by workflow, and clinical appropriateness of clinical decision support (The Joint Commission [TJC],

The introduction of Health Information Systems (HIS) to the health care industry has changed the delivery and reimbursement services in the United States (US). The history of information systems (IS) has enhanced communication between patients, providers, and insurance providers. Prior to the information age, health care use a paper method to maintain patient records. Numerous advancements within the information technology (IT) industry have since evolved. Family physicians and small medical practices have incorporated clinical and administrative and rely on its technology. IS have also

Healthcare is a prevailing topic of today’s conversation. People want and need better access to care. Electronic Health Reports provide access to better care because their implementation and use is considered to be of greatest importance for reducing medical errors and improving the quality of service that patients receive (Song et al. 2011). The traditional paper-based record keeping system will be a thing of the past as the US healthcare delivery system makes a shift to electronic record keeping. This transition will take place as an advantage that links local and national healthcare strategies and places a priority on efficient operational practices. Even though a benefit of

Many health care organizations have already invested considerably in implementing administrative information systems and a handful of clinical applications. They are now wrestling with how to successfully expand their clinical information system capabilities in an effort to improve patient safety, increase health care quality, and decrease costs. Examples of clinical information system expansion include everything from computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems to bar-coding medication administration systems to fully electronic medical record (EMR) systems. Health system organizations continue to move forward with the adoption and implementation of electronic clinical information systems that promote patient safety. Physicians have also begun to invest in health care information systems, including EMRs, but most are in large practices of fifty or more providers. Health