Meaningful Use of Electronic
Health Records
 If you’re a bit
overwhelmed by the notion of meaningful use
(MU), you’re not alone. But you’re also not
alone in your efforts to bring your practice
into the digital age. Even if you are
reluctant to make the many required changes
in your recordkeeping, you and your patients
will ultimately benefit in many ways— with
more efficient workflow, better patient care
and increased patient safety.
Many
resources are available to you as you take
steps to integrate a fully functioning
electronic health record (EHR) system in
your practice. These web pages are intended
to be another resource for Carondelet Health
Network-affiliated physicians, to help you
navigate what may be new territory.
The primary goal of meaningful use is to
improve the U.S. health care system by
improving the quality and efficiency of care
and patient safety. Meaningful use documents
the value and use of electronic health
records in health care settings.
The
meaningful use incentive program recognizes
that implementation of the EHR is key to
making health care improvements in quality,
efficiency and safety. To support health
care providers during the transition period
from paper-based to electronic systems,
financial rewards for the meaningful use of
qualified and certified EHRs to achieve
health and efficiency goals have been
developed.
Thus, meaningful use has
come to mean the set of objectives that
health care providers must meet in order to
receive incentive payments from Medicare and
Medicaid. Meaningful use for eligible
professionals (EPs) is defined as follows:
- Use of a certified EHR in a
meaningful manner (e.g., e-Prescribing);
- Use of certified EHR technology for
electronic exchange of health
information; and
- Use of certified EHR technology to
submit clinical quality and other
measures.
For more information and to get started,
just use the links on the left.
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