02/20/2013
Large health IT vendors -- such as Allscripts and Cerner -- that lobbied for the legislation that created the meaningful use incentive program have seen significant increases in sales over the past few years. Executives from smaller firms say the legislation solidified the larger companies' position in the industry and made it difficult for others to break into the field and innovate. New York Times.
02/19/2013
An American Medical News editorial argues that CMS' timeline for the meaningful use program is too ambitious given some of the issues that have emerged during Stage 1. It calls for CMS to solicit an independent evaluation of the program before moving forward. American Medical News.
02/14/2013
In an opinion piece, former National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal writes that it is premature to discuss the efficacy of the meaningful use program. He writes that the program still is in nascent stages and deserves a chance to prove its worth. Annals of Internal Medicine.
02/13/2013
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is offering grants of up to $500,000 for studies that could provide insight to policymakers as they finalize criteria for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program. Applications are due March 28. Health Data Management, Clinical Innovation & Technology.
02/08/2013
The Health IT Standards Committee is calling for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to prioritize menu options instead of core requirements for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program, noting that certain standards are evolving. Government Health IT.
02/07/2013
A survey by communications firm Level 3 finds that health care CIOs list electronic health record implementation, meaningful use and compliance as their top health IT priorities for 2013. Most respondents say they plan to increase IT spending this year. Healthcare IT News et al.
01/31/2013
The American Hospital Association has sent a letter urging CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to improve the process for developing and testing electronic clinical quality measures before finalizing them under Stage 2 of the meaningful use program. The letter comes in response to an interim final rule that adjusted certain Stage 2 criteria. FierceEMR, AHA News.
01/28/2013
As of last month, nearly $10.7 billion in meaningful use incentive payments had been doled out to more than 190,000 hospitals and eligible professionals. According to CMS, 4,224 hospitals and 350,844 eligible professionals have registered for the meaningful use program. Modern Healthcare.
01/25/2013
Yesterday, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT acknowledged that problems with a government-developed software tool are causing delays in testing electronic health record systems for compliance with the 2014 edition EHR certification criteria. An ONC official has outlined the steps the agency is taking to address the technical issues. Modern Healthcare.
01/24/2013
The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine has called for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program to require that electronic health records include job data. The Rhode Island Quality Institute also offered comments on Stage 3. Government Health IT et al.
01/18/2013
Several health care groups, including the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the American Academy of Family Physicians, have submitted comments related to the proposed criteria for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program. Healthcare Informatics et al.
01/17/2013
According to a new study, electronically reported clinical quality measures vary widely in accuracy. Such discrepancies could undermine the success of the meaningful use program, which calls for the electronic reporting of quality data starting in 2014. Modern Physician et al.
01/17/2013
A new analysis from HIMSS Analytics finds that the adoption and use of higher-level electronic health record functions is on the rise at U.S. hospitals. The increase in advanced EHR use could be the result of the meaningful use program, researchers said. FierceEMR et al.
01/16/2013
CMS has announced that physicians who bill Medicare using the Method 2 approach now are eligible to participate in the meaningful use program. However, the newly eligible physicians will not be able to attest to meaningful use until January 2014. Health Data Management, AHA News.
01/16/2013
Earlier this week, the American College of Physicians, the eHealth Initiative and the Society for Participatory Medicine provided input and recommendations related to the proposed criteria for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program. Clinical Innovation & Technology et al.