Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology

On December 30, 2009, CMS  and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology released documents clarifying what physicians and hospitals must do to qualify for government incentive payments for the “meaningful use” of electronic health care records.  The standards for Stage 1 of the  meaningful use requirements were finalized on July 13^th, so physicians and hospitals are now eligible to qualify for the first round of incentive payments.  Outpatient rehabilitation organizations will not be eligible for the first round of incentive payments, and it is not clear when they might become eligible. Clinicient is monitoring of all of the developments in this area, and is well positioned to meet the eligibility requirements for outpatient rehabilitation facilities when and if that becomes a reality.

In a nutshell, electronic health care records must meet a battery of requirements to demonstrate meaningful use, which include:

• Order entry for referrals to other providers
• Real time drug-drug and drug-allergy contraindications
• A Problem List of current and active diagnoses
• E-prescribing
• Maintain active medication/allergy list
• Incorporating clinical lab test results as structured data
• Check insurance eligibility electronically
• Exchange key electronic information among providers of care and “patient authorized entities”

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) is an independent organization that is developing specific requirements for electronic medical records.  CCHIT is working in conjunction with the federal government to ensure that standards are in place that match federal requirements.  CCHIT certification of systems will normally be necessary to meet the meaningful use requirements for the incentive payments.  CCHIT has not developed standards specific to outpatient rehabilitation.  When outpatient rehabilitation is folded into the mix, CCHIT will develop certification standards, and Clinicient products will become certified with CCHIT at that time.