Meaningful Use
In 2009 the HITECH Act was enacted with the purpose to improve health for Americans; however satisfying the requirements of the Act potentially reduces the quality of the care given to the patient due to the increased burdens placed on providers. Providers must purchase Electronic Health Record (EHR) Technology and comply with Meaningful Use (1). Initially providers are compensated for participating in Meaningful Use, however, the ultimate end result is providers are penalized if the 15 Core Measures for which they attest to are not met. Although the stimulus money can provide a gain in the beginning, what happens when the stimulus money is gone? Will the technology be able to support itself? There are costs for maintenance and upgrades of software for technology. For a large institution, such as Washington University, this could cost millions of dollars. Technology costs and reporting of Meaningful Use may outweigh the professed value (1). Health Information Technology (HIT) is used today for a variety of reasons. It is used by an individual to seek relevant information about themselves, family members, and friends. Additionally, it may be used to access health services, schedule appointments, and refill medications. One may also use HIT to communicate with their provider via a patient portal (PP), seek out information on a chronic condition, or utilize a patient health record (2).
Stage 1 of The Meaningful Use rule, or Meaningless Use rule as many named it, is the only stage that is currently enacted and contains three objectives. Only one objective is patient-facing. This objective requires the patient to be supplied with an electronic copy of their health information, which may include diagnostic test results, problem list, medication list, and allergies (2).
The issue with this objective is that if there is a collaborative hospital/provider practice such as Barnes Hospital and Washington University they each have patient portals. If a patient has a
Stage 1 of The Meaningful Use rule, or Meaningless Use rule as many named it, is the only stage that is currently enacted and contains three objectives. Only one objective is patient-facing. This objective requires the patient to be supplied with an electronic copy of their health information, which may include diagnostic test results, problem list, medication list, and allergies (2).
The issue with this objective is that if there is a collaborative hospital/provider practice such as Barnes Hospital and Washington University they each have patient portals. If a patient has a
Bibliography: (1) Hussain, MD, MHA, Anwar A. "Meaningful Use of Information Technology: A Local Prospective." Annals of Internal Medicine 154.10 (2011): 690-92. Academic Search Premier. Olin Library, Washington University. 20 Feb. 2012 (2) Ahern, PhD, David K., et.al. "Promise of and Potential for Patient-Facing Technologies to Enable Meaningful Use." American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2nd ser. 1.40 (2011): S162-172. Academic Search Premier. Olin Library, Washington University. 20 Feb. 2012 (3) O 'Malley, MD, MPH, Ann S. "Tapping the Unmet Potential of Health Information Technology." The New England Journal of Medicine 364.12 (2011): 1090-091. Academic Search Premier. Olin Library, Washington University. 20 Feb. 2012. (4) Crosson, PhD, Jesse C., et.al. "Early Adopters of Electronic Prescribing Struggle to Make Meaningful Use of Formulary Checks and Medication History Documentation." The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 25.1 (2012): 24-32. Academic Search Premier. Olin Library, Washington University. 20 Feb. 2012.