What is Meaningful use?

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 (EHR) and allows eligible providers and hospitals to earn incentive payments by meeting specific criteria.

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What are the goals of meaningful use?

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• The overall goals of meaningful use are to use EHR technology to:

• Improve quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care

• Engage patients and families

• Improve care coordination

• Ensure adequate privacy and security for personal health information

• Improve population and public health

 

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Benefits of meaningful use:

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• Complete and accurate information

• Better access to information

• Patient empowerment

 

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What is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act?

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• HITECH, eligible health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt certified EHR technology and use it to achieve specified objectives.

• Eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 through the Medicare EHR Incentive Program and up to $63,750 through the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. 

• Beginning in 2015, Medicare eligible professionals who do not successfully demonstrate meaningful use will be subject to a payment adjustment. The payment reduction starts at 1% and increases each year that a Medicare eligible professional does not demonstrate meaningful use, to a maximum of 5% 

 

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To participate in the incentive program, you must have a complete EHR or a combination of EHR modules that:

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• Meets the meaningful use criteria of a "Qualified EHR"

• Has been tested and certified in accordance with the certification criteria established by ONC.

 

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Are you up to date with the new government regulations? If you are not sure of the answer, we can help. Contact us for a free consultation to help get the most benefit for your practice. Contact us at Areej@h3-tecnologies.com or call us at 859-282-1400.