The Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems recently sent a letter urging the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to revisit its draft "meaningful use" definition, specifically the provisions calling for the use of computerized physician order entry systems by 2011, Health Data Management reports.
Earlier this month, the Health IT Policy Committee released initial recommendations for how health care providers can demonstrate meaningful use of electronic health records to qualify for federal incentive payments under the economic stimulus law.
AMDIS said the committee should postpone the CPOE target until 2013 or later because implementing the technology can be "fraught with potential unintended negative consequences if done too quickly or incorrectly." The organization added that complete CPOE functionality is "generally a challenging, multiyear undertaking that requires careful planning and execution."
However, AMDIS said they would support a 2011 target for ambulatory CPOE systems because such technology is more fully developed.
Other Recommendations
The association also recommended that the Health IT Policy Committee:
- Allow incentive payments for health care providers who meet data sharing requirements, regardless of whether other providers use the shared data;
- Clarify payment provisions under the stimulus law;
- Focus 2011 objectives on EHR data capture and sharing;
- Postpone quality measure reporting until 2013; and
- Use patients' perspective to inform meaningful use criteria (Goedert, Health Data Management, 6/26).
The AMDIS comment letter is available online (.pdf).