Meaningful Use and EHR Medicare/Medicaid Incentive Payment
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) authorizes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide reimbursement incentives for eligible professionals who are successful in becoming “meaningful users” of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. The law includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or the "HITECH Act," which established programs under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). On July 13, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule on the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs under Medicare and Medicaid. The Final Rule established the criteria and reporting requirements which eligible professionals follow to prove meaningful use of their adopted Electronic Health Record technology.
CMS Final Rule Snapshot
- A set of specific requirements to be considered “certified” electronic health record (EHR) technology
- A series of criteria to which healthcare providers must adhere to in order to qualify as meaningful users of health information technology (HIT) & receive incentive payments
- Establish a series of quality measures on which providers must report in order to receive the incentive payments
Meaningful Use Objectives: Use of Certified EHR Technology
- Improve quality, safety & efficiency
- Reduce health disparities
- Engage patients & families in their health care
- Improve care coordination
- Improve population & public health
- Maintain privacy & security across all areas
The Office of the National Coordinator
Under the HITECH Act, CMS worked closely with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). ONC is the principal Federal entity charged with developing support for the adoption of HIT and the promotion of nationwide health information exchange to improve health care. In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, National HIT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal and principal deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Marilyn Tavenner review the programs and provide a detailed overview of the “basic functions that enable EHRs to support improved healthcare.”
Know the Incentive Facts: The CMS Final Rule
The CMS Rule was released on July 13, 2010 for the Electronic Health Records Incentives Programs in Medicare and Medicaid, along with two companion rules. One defines the minimum requirements that providers must meet through their use of certified EHR technology in order to qualify for the payments. The other outlines criteria for the certification of EHR technology.
To take advantage of these incentives you must be able to demonstrate “Meaningful Use” of Healthcare IT. You must use a certified EHR, and you need to use the EHR for:
- ePrescribing, an accurate & secure way to transmit & manage the patient prescription process
- Interoperability, the ability to share clinical data with other medical systems
- Reporting on specified clinical quality measures
By focusing on the effective use of EHRs, the HITECH Act makes clear that the adoption of Electronic Health Records is not a goal in itself. It is the use of EHRs to achieve health and efficiency goals that matters. HITECH’s incentives and assistance programs seek to improve the health of Americans and the performance of their health care system through “meaningful use” of EHRs to achieve five health care goals.
- Improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of care while reducing disparities
- Engage patients and families in their care
- Promote public and population health
- Improve care coordination
- Promote the privacy and security of EHRs
