Federal officials today announced they have come up with a final standard for how they will determine whether a health provider has achieved “meaningful use” of electronic health records – and therefore stand to receive thousands in grant money.
The new regulations announced today both define the tasks healthcare providers must complete in order to qualify for government payments and identify technical capabilities required of the EHR systems those providers use.
Physicians and other healthcare providers interested in implementing electronic-health-record (EHR) systems can receive both financial and strategic assistance in doing so. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds grant money earmarked for these providers. A team of organizations, led by the University of Missouri and including Primaris, was chosen to assist providers with EHR implementation.
Providers who can show they are “meaningful users” of a newly installed EHR system stand to receive up to $44,000 in reimbursements per physician in 2011. For more information on the specifics of meaningful use, please see the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site.
External links:
- Official press release from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (alternate link)
- CMS fact sheet with more information about the new regulations
- The New England Journal of Medicine has published a synopsis of the new rule.
Final regulations define "meaningful use" for physicians interested in electronic records
