Final Meaningful Use Regs: Giant Step For Ehrs, Giant Leap Towards Better Care Management

The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) throughout the healthcare

system received another boost last week when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its final criteria for the meaningful use of EHRs within the incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. After releasing preliminary meaningful use regulations back in January, the agency spent the past several months collecting the thoughts and opinions of anyone and everyone in healthcare who took the time to submit one. CMS has said these factored into the finished product quite heavily, so score one for transparency.

The final meaningful use regulations havent diminished the EHR incentive programs impact on health plans, and its effect on health reform remains the same. If anything, they offer more flexibility than those proposed in January, which should increase EHR adoption within the plans first few years. The bottom line is that greater usage of EHRs will get electronic medical data flowing throughout the system. Well see more integration and sharing of information among payers, providers and even patients, which is a major step in the path to reform.

For us at MEDecision, adoption of the final meaningful use regsand the subsequent proliferation of EHRs that it will enableis certainly an exciting development. Anyone who has followed our company over the past two-plus decades knows that we believe strongly in the potential of EHRs and healthcare IT to bring real, sustainable change to the healthcare system, and most importantly, better care to improve the health and well being of the population. We have long trumpeted technologys potential to maintain costs, improve outcomes and increase operational efficiencies, so its very energizing for us to see healthcare finally heading in that direction.

The coming months and years may turn out to be among the most pivotal the system has ever seen, and were gearing up to play a significant role in the transformation.

by: Eric Demers

POST COMMENT

Ten Top Time Management Ideas Property Management: A Belonging Way To Keep Your Resources Safe Today's Content Management Systems 6 Easy-to-follow Induction Management And Staff Training Best Practices Incorporated Approach Towards Supply Chain Management The Greatest Time Management Strategy Hiring A Property Management Service In Canada Caters The Most Important Aspect Of Human Resource Management Property Management And Cleaning Service In Mississauga All About Logistics And Supply Chain Management Training Getting The Most Out Of A Debt Management Plan Institute Of Logistics Management & Allied Services- An Overview Remote Infrastructure Management