Meaningful use of electronic health records in healthcare incentive programs

¶ … electronic system in the health care system, new ideas and approaches are introduced. Electronic health records are helpful if they are meaningfully used. The concept of meaningful use is explained by many healthcare authorities. The Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Programs offer financial incentives regarding "meaningful use" of certified EHR (Electronic Health Record) technology. This helps improve patient care. The health care officers need to demonstrate that they "meaningfully use" their EHRs and meet objectives. ARRA HITECH legislation also ensures "meaningful use" by skilled professionals (What is meaningful use? n.d.). The professionals that are certified for electronic health record technology are qualified for incentive payments (AHIMA: Quality Healthcare through Quality Information, 2013). AHIMA discusses the criteria for meaningful use. The initial set of standards should be met and the specifications for implementation must be followed. The professionals qualified for incentive repayment for meaningful use of certified EHRs include Dentist, Physicians, and Doctor of podiatric medicine, Doctor of optometry, Chiropractor, Certified nurse-midwives, Nurse Practitioner and Physician assistants.

Components of Meaningful Use

The meaningful use has following components:

Implementing Certified EHR in a meaningful manner

Using Certified EHR technology for electronic exchange of health

Using certified EHR technology to submit clinical quality

Classification

The meaningful use of Electronic Health Records is planned and categorized as follows:

Increase care coordination

Decrease healthcare disparities

Involve patients and their families

Advance population and public health

Guarantee acceptable privacy and security

Importance of EHR and Meaningful Use

The electronic health records are inevitable in America. These EHRs improve decision making skills of health care professionals. Also it enhances the patient's outcomes by recovering their health. The technology is helpful for all the stake holders in health care. Numerous physicians have experienced benefits of meaningful use of EHR.

The administration states the rates that the professionals will charges for functioning as meaningful users. This returns the views and experiences that help improve care. The management of HITECH necessitates that meaningful use should have electronic writing of data and to achieve a healthy reporting capability to benefit the public.

Impact on HIM profession

The meaningful use is a result of team effort all through the healthcare institute in which all the departments are involved. The meaningful use helps share the burden by managing records. The additional burden isn't easy for HIM thus the professionals are trained to increase productivity.

Rule of the meaningful use is a step towards coordinated set of regulations. These regulations are designed to develop a much more reserved and secure electronic health information system that matches and fulfills the needs of contemporary health care system. Using these regulations, the health care professionals will be certain to be able of meaningful use (Blumenthal, 2010). HITECH legislation made laws that give standards and certification criteria that need to be met by EHRs so that they can have certification. The patients' concerns for privacy and security are considered seriously by these departments thus they are taking solid steps to ensure that the health care professionals comply with high quality standards and that the system is overall improved to make use of electronic systems.