TAG:
Meaningful Use
When the federal government signed into law the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act as part of ARRA, which was, in part, designed to create incentives for the use of health information technology, it based many of the incentives on “Meaningful Use.”
The requirements are intended to progress through three different stages over several years.
Stage 1, Meaningful Use: Sets a baseline for electronic data capture and medical information sharing. Requires the use of an electronic health record (EHR) as well as a demonstration that it is used to meet objective and measurable requirements. There are 15 required core objectives and a menu of other objectives, several of which must be met in order to meet the thresholds of quality measurements in order to receive the financial incentives referenced in the regulations promulgated by the HITECH Act. For the most part these were implemented in 2011 through 2013.
Stage 2, Meaningful Use: Stage 2 focuses on “increasing the electronic capture of health information in a structured format, as well as increasing the exchange of clinically relevant information between providers of care at care transitions.”
Stage 2 set forth three broad requirements. First was the standardization of data formats, which is intended to simplify how healthcare information is captured and shared across disparate IT systems, i.e., improved interoperability.
Second, it required that patients are able to easily access and download their digital medical records and images for their own use.
Third, it expanded the scope of quality metrics tracking to include specialists and to reflect outcomes, as well as care coordination.
As part of Stage 2, healthcare entities must satisfy a lengthy list of measure criteria.
Stage 3, Meaningful Use: Stage 3 requirements were released in 2015. These criteria focus on the sustainability of the program through improvements in quality, safety and efficiency that improve health outcomes, and include:
- 8 objectives for eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs: In Stage 3, more than 60 percent of the proposed measures require interoperability, up from 33 percent in Stage 2
- Public health reporting with flexible options for measure selection
- Meaningful Use clinical quality measures reporting aligned with the CMS quality reporting programs
- Finalize the use of application program interfaces (APIs) that enable the development of new functionalities to build bridges across systems and provide increased data access. This will help patients have unprecedented access to their own health records, empowering individuals to make key health decisions.
Lawyers Provide Insights About Top Legal Concerns
CEO SUMMARY: After conducting the first-ever survey of the most important legal, compliance and managed care concerns for clinical labs and pathology groups, THE DARK REPORT asked leading lab industry attorneys who participated in the survey to say a few words about these topics….
Sunquest’s LIS Product First To Earn Certification from CCHIT
IF THERE WAS A RACE TO BE FIRST TO OFFER a laboratory information system (LIS) product that is certified to be compliant as an (EHR) electronic health record module by CCHIT, then Sunquest Information Systems, Inc., has attained that achievement. On January 21, 2011, the Cer…
Reading the Tea Leaves from 2010’s Events
EACH YEAR WHEN WE PRESENT OUR “Top Ten Lab Stories” for the year, I am always surprised at which forces for change emerged during the prior 12 months. In presenting THE DARK REPORT’S “Top Ten Lab Stories for 2010,” our editor has pointed out that four of these ten stories involved the feder…
Our Top Ten Lab Stories Highlight Major Changes
CEO SUMMARY: What makes 2010 a watershed year for the laboratory testing industry is enactment of the 2,700-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Even if parts of this bill are repealed, the remaining parts of the massive legislation will trigger major changes …
New “Meaningful Use” Rules Are Easier on Docs
CEO SUMMARY: The federal government will spend $20 billion over the next four years to encourage every physician to use an electronic medical record (EMR) system. For labs, this increase in connectivity represents a significant marketing opportunity. However, the new federal rule…
Lab Industry Would Be Smart To Issue EMR Report Card
Guest Opinion by: Pat Wolfram Editor’s Note: For almost 20 years, Pat Wolfram has worked to develop electronic medical record systems at companies like MedicaLogic and GE Healthcare. His firm specializes in developing effective electronic interfaces that allow a physi…
Preparing for New Lab Role In Personalized Medicine
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory medicine is about to find itself between the two jaws of a powerful vise. One jaw is pending major legislative overhaul of the entire healthcare system, along with dwindling reimbursement as Medicare and Medicaid runs out of money. The other jaw is personalized med…
Predict 60,000 Doctors To Adopt EMRs Each Year
CEO SUMMARY: Only about 180,000 U.S. physicians have adopted electronic medical record (EMR) systems over the past 14 years—mostly in larger medical groups. Now experts believe as many as 60,000 physicians per year will begin to adopt EMRs because of new federal incenti…
New Clinical Lab Trends To Shape Events in 2010
CEO SUMMARY: In presenting this list of macro trends for clinical laboratories, several themes are in play. They range from a continued emphasis on improving lab operations to the need to acquire and deploy sophisticated information technology. During the next few years, the long…
Health Info Exchange (HIE) Helps South Bend Lab
CEO SUMMARY: Across the country, there are many efforts to create Regional Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). This has the potential to change the way laboratories connect electronically with referring physicians. This is true in South Bend, Indiana, where the Michiana Health I…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXI, No. 6 – April 29, 2024
Laboratory managers will want to note that The Dark Report itself was targeted by the fraudsters who hit Change Health in a cyberattack. Also, one lab has some innovative methods of combatting the chronic staffing shortage, including hiring college graduates and students.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
Lab leaders rely on THE DARK REPORT for actionable intelligence on important developments in the business of laboratory testing. Maximize the money you make-and the money you keep! Best of all, it is released every three weeks!
Sign up for TDR Insider
Join the Dark Intelligence Group FREE and get TDR Insider FREE!
Never miss a single update on the issues that matter to you and your business.