Meaningful Use

Providers need to make more effective use of patient problem lists in their electronic health records, according to speakers participating on a recent webinar sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources Services Administration.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued new guidance to help eligible professionals participate in both the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program and the Physician Quality Reporting System program. Eligible professionals who successfully participate in both programs can receive incentive payments in 2013 and avoid penalties in 2015.

True to its word, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is moving at full steam to provide governance support to health information organizations (HIOs) to spur the industry to widespread electronic data exchange. ONC has formed a governance framework with business, trust and other principles to create a "common foundation" for all types of health information exchange governance models. Still, I wonder if this decision ultimately may come back to haunt the industry.

Fueled by the momentum of its new governance framework for electronic health information exchange unveiled earlier this month, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT wasted no time forging onward, providing an update on its continuing efforts to support HIE efforts and outlining its latest initiatives. 

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT continues to support health information exchange in Stage 2 of the Meaningful Use program, recently releasing a document to help health information organizations support the transition of care measurements.

Doctors in the U.S. are embracing electronic health records, even if reluctantly, with 93 percent reporting they actively use an EHR system, according to a new report from Accenture.