Meaningful Use

There's been a whole lot of capital invested in health information technology these past few years. And some people -- especially those who are in charge of spending more of it -- want to know whether it's money well spent.

The GAO recently took a swipe at the government's Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Program, saying it lacked strategy and called for action to establish a strategy in order to achieve its goals, especially those aimed at improving care.

Mike Mistretta from MedCentral discusses meaningful use Stage 2 and ICD-10 at HIMSS14.

With more than 50 percent of practices and 80 percent of hospitals having adopted electronic health records and attested for meaningful use by now, it's time to talk about next steps.

In his $3.9 trillion fiscal year 2015 budget proposal released Tuesday, President Obama asked for $1.8 billion to support health information technology incentive payments -- the same amount he requested last year. Actual spending for this category came to $1.07 billion in 2013.

There will be no delay for ICD-10 conversion. But when CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner announced Thursday at HIMSS14 that CMS would be flexible on hardship exemptions for meaningful use requirements, it provided some of the relief healthcare providers -- and the professional organizations that represent them -- have been seeking.

Robert Tagalicod, CMS Director of the Office of E-Health Standards and Services, recaps the substance of the ONC Town Hall at which he spoke during the HIMSS14 Annual Conference & Exhibition.

People have concerns about meeting government regulation requirements, particularly in light of deadlines that sometimes conflict, such as those for Stage 2 meaningful use and ICD-10 conversion. Karen DeSalvo, MD, understands that and is listening.

"There are a lot of providers out there who are feeling a lot of anxiety and a lot of pressure," admitted Mat Kendall, director of ONC's Office of Provider Adoption Support at HIMSS14 on Monday.

"Rural is not a smaller version of urban," said Tom Morris, associate administrator for rural health policy at Health Resources and Services Administration, speaking Sunday at the pre-conference symposium, "Health IT and Rural Healthcare: Embracing Opportunities and Overcoming Challenges."