Meaningful Use– an Overview

The dictionary defines the word "meaningful"as "purposeful; significant."

The federal government has the same idea behind its definition of what it means for physicians and practices to achieve the “meaningful use (MU)” of their electronic health records systems (EHR). The goal is not only to encourage the adoption of EHRs over traditional paper records, but to use those EHRs to the point that they truly improve patient care.

There are big incentives for qualifying providers to reach MU— as much as $44,000 (through Medicare) and $63,750 (through Medicaid) per clinician. Providers must achieve MU by the end of 2012 to receive the maximum incentive payment from Medicare, though smaller payments will continue through 2014. Medicaid providers must purchase an EHR system by the end of 2016 to receive the maximum incentive for that program.

Starting in 2015, providers who treat Medicare patients, and who have not achieved the MU of an EHR, will begin being penalized. The penalty is based off the billable Medicare charge and will be 1% in year one, 2% in year two, 3% in year three, 4% in year four and up to a 5% maximum. There will be no penalties related to Medicaid.

How is Meaningful Use Defined?

In its definition of MU, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) breaks the requirements into two camps: 15 Core Objectives, 100% of which must be met, and a menu set of 10 Additional Objectives, from which a practice can select five.

Resources Available:

To help practices make the EHR conversion and reach MU, the DHHS has established a nationwide network of Regional Extension Centers (RECs). NYeC’s REC assists physicians and practices throughout New York State, excluding New York City.

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