Meaningful Use for Therapists
So far, recommended meaningful use measures for electronic health records (EHR) have focused on primary care providers. Hopefully, that will change soon after the Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee meets in Washington later this month. At the two-day meeting, the HIT Policy Committee will hear testimony on how meaningful use might affect non-physician practitioners.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) mandated the creation of the HIT Policy Committee. This committee is charged with making recommendations to the National Coordinator for HIT on issues pertaining to health information technology.
CCHIT to Seek EHR Vendor Input on Town Call Meeting
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), a nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of health IT, will host a Town Call tomorrow for the vendor and developer community tomorrow. Chart Links Chief Operating Officer, Jim Hammer, will participate. On the call, CCHIT will gather input on the details and timing of its planned new paths to certification of electronic health record (EHR) technologies, with the goal of supporting more rapid, widespread adoption and meaningful use under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
“We are concerned that providers could not achieve meaningful EHR use in 2011 if they wait until Spring 2010 – the expected date of HHS final approval of requirements – to begin adopting this technology,” said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., Commission chair. “CCHIT has analyzed the recommendations of the Federal HIT Advisory Committees and is preparing to offer new paths to certification beginning this October.”
Besides updating and enhancing its current certification program for comprehensive EHRs in Ambulatory, Inpatient, and Emergency Department settings, the Commission plans to launch a more limited, modular inspection program for EHR technology, focusing only on compliance with ARRA-required standards.
During the event, planned for September 3 at 12:00 PM Central time, concepts and some details of these two programs will be discussed. Participants will be invited to submit questions and comments online, and respond to polling regarding their interest and readiness for participation in the process.
Information about the free Town Call is available at http://www.cchit.org/about/towncalls/commission-seeks-input-2009.
More information on CCHIT and CCHIT Certified® products is available at http://cchit.org and http://ehrdecisions.com.
No Final Definition of EHR Meaningful Use until Spring of 2010
We’ve been anxiously awaiting a final definition for “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHR) to determine which hospitals and providers will be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. However, in a press conference on August 20th, Dr. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology, predicted that the final definition will not be available until the middle or end of spring in 2010. A preliminary definition of “meaningful use” is scheduled to be issued by the end of 2009 with a 60-day comment period.