Meaningful Use

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HIT Voices: The Policy Challenges Facing Health IT Leaders (Part 1)

Gabriel Perna
Anita Samarth, President of Clinovations, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm that works with the government, providers, and other health IT stakeholders, talks about the scope of different policy issues facing industry leaders in 2013 and beyond. This is part 1 of a three-part series.

Top Stories

KLAS: MU Stage 2 Drives EHR Patient Portal Offerings

September 17, 2013     Rajiv Leventhal
news
Meaningful use (MU) Stage 2 requirements are accelerating electronic health record (EHR)-specific patient portal adoption at an increasing rate, according to a new report from the Orem, Utah-based research and consulting firm, KLAS Research.

ACP Becomes Latest Organization to Question Stage 2 Timeline

September 13, 2013     Rajiv Leventhal
news
The American College of Physicians (ACP) has become the latest organization to inform federal officials that the healthcare industry is not ready for Stage 2 of meaning use, while Stage 3 proposals seem unrealistic.

Simplifying Meaningful Use Reporting at George Washington Medical Faculty Associates

September 10, 2013     Rajiv Leventhal
article
While the timing of Stage 2 of meaningful use has been a hot topic lately, there are tools and technology to help providers automate meaningful use so that practices of all sizes are ready for this huge next step. George Washington Medical Faculty Associates has found one solution to help them with the tedious tasks involved with meaningful use reporting.

Washington Debrief: ONC Reveals Stage 2 Vendor Readiness Data

September 10, 2013     Jeff Smith, Director of Public Policy at CHIME
article
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT revealed new analysis looking at vendor readiness on 2014 Edition CEHRT during this month’s Health IT Policy Committee. ONC’s Data Analytics team sought to answer the question, “What percentage of successful Meaningful Users attested with vendors that have passed certification for 2014 Edition CEHRT?”

Hawaii Department of Human Services Launches EHR Incentive Program

September 5, 2013     Rajiv Leventhal
news
The State of Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS) has launched the Hawaii Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive program to help healthcare providers adopt, implement, upgrade, or meaningfully use certified EHR technology.

Poll

Should the Stage 2 attestation period be altered (either extended or delayed) in any way?:

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N.J. REC Transitioning to Sustainability

September 5, 2013     David Raths
blog
NJ-HITEC is setting itself up to be the outreach and education arm of the ACOs as they spring up across the state. It also offers services around patient-centered medical homes, registries, and PQRS reporting.

Stage 3 Future is Already Here; It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed

September 2, 2013     David Raths
blog
We are regularly reminded that Stage 3 of meaningful use will shift the focus from EHR deployment and data exchange to the health outcomes improvement the technology is designed to enable. But of course some organizations are already past the implementation phase and are working on realizing those outcome improvements. That Stage 3 future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed.

Stage 2 and the Industry’s Full Court Pressure

August 30, 2013     Gabriel Perna
blog
A number of healthcare IT stakeholders are pushing the government to either delay or extend the timeline for Stage 2 of meaningful use, as I found in researching for a recently published feature article in the September issue of Healthcare Informatics. It kind of reminds me of the final minutes of a basketball game.

HIT Voices: The Policy Challenges Facing Health IT Leaders (Part 3)

August 28, 2013     Gabriel Perna
article
In the final part of our HIT voices series, Russ Branzell, CEO of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and George T.“Buddy” Hickman, executive vice president and CIO of Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center and CHIME’s board chair discuss meaningful use. Just what is at stake if the Stage 2 timeline isn’t extended?

Washington Debrief: More Associations Urge Meaningful Use Extension, Payment Adjustments

August 27, 2013     Jeff Smith, Director of Public Policy at CHIME
article
Last week, yet another provider organization urged HHS officials to “implement an indefinite moratorium on penalties” for physicians as long as they complete Stage 1 of Meaningful Use. In a letter to Secretary Sebelius, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) also joined CHIME, AAFP, HIMSS and others in requesting an extension to Meaningful Use timelines in 2014.

MGMA Asks HHS to Delay Imposing MU Penalties on Physicians

August 22, 2013     Mark Hagland
news
In an Aug. 21 letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Susan Turney, M.D., president and CEO of the Medical Group Management Association, called on Sebelius to embrace a series of actions designed to ease the burden on physicians trying to meet to meet the meaningful use requirements in the HITECH Act, including instituting a moratorium on penalties for physicians that have successfully completed Stage 1 requirements.

HIT Voices: The Policy Challenges Facing Healthcare IT Leaders (Part 2)

August 22, 2013     Gabriel Perna
article
Edward Marx, senior vice president and CIO of Texas Health Resources, talks with Healthcare Informatics about a variety of policy-related topics. He explains why he doesn't wish to see a delay of any kind to the Stage 2 implementation timeline. Part 2 of a three-part series.
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