The use of an electronic health record (EHR) is increasingly viewed as necessary to manage and document the quality of care provided to patients and cope with the evolving demands of health reform and practice transformation. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (collectively referred to as the HITECH Act),
1 committed substantial resources ($30 billion) and created financial incentives to support the expanded adoption, implementation, and upgrade of EHRs through the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. As a result, the meaningful use of EHRs has become a national priority.
The following are key provisions of the HITECH Act that contribute to the development of EHR meaningful use:
The following are key provisions of the HITECH Act that contribute to the development of EHR meaningful use:
1. Promoting HIT, including improving health care quality, safety, and efficiency, and the application and use of HIT standards;
2. Conducting HIT testing, including pilot testing of standards, implementation specifications, a voluntary testing program, and research and development programs;
3. Funding grants/loans and demonstration programs, including:
• Medicaid and Medicare monetary incentives for eligible health care professionals and hospitals when they adopt and achieve meaningful use of certified EHR technology,
• Medicaid and Medicare monetary incentives for eligible health care professionals and hospitals when they adopt and achieve meaningful use of certified EHR technology,
• Funding to strengthen HIT infrastructure,
• HIT implementation assistance including the creation of Regional Extension Centers to provide technical assistance to under-resourced providers, and
• Other grant support for HIT.
