“Meaningful Use” is one of the biggest healthcare buzz terms in 2014, so what’s all the fuss about? Our next series of blog posts is dedicated to answering this, and other questions, about Meaningful Use.

Meaningful Use - The Basics

Meaningful Use was established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2011 as an incentive payment program to encourage the appropriate use of electronic health records (EHR).  The goal of the program is to improve patient care by “meaningfully using” EHRs to meet the following five priorities:

1. Improving quality, safety, efficiency, and reducing health disparities
2. Engaging patients and families in their health
3. Improving care coordination
4. Improving population and public health
5. Ensuring adequate privacy and security protection for personal health information

Meaningful Use Stages

CMS has established certain objectives that healthcare providers must meet in order to receive incentive payments (and avoid penalties).  There are 3 stages to the program, with increasing requirements for participating:

• Stage 1

Providers begin by meeting Stage 1 requirements for a 90 day period within the first year.  Then, depending on the year they started, they must demonstrate 3 months or a year of Meaningful Use in their second year.

The focus of Stage 1 is data capture and sharing, with five main areas:

1. Electronically capturing health information in a standardized format
2. Using that information to track key clinical conditions
3. Communicating that information for care coordination processes
4. Initiating the reporting of clinical quality measures and public health information
5. Using information to engage patients and their families in their care

• Stage 2

Once a provider has achieved Meaningful Use under the Stage 1 criteria, they move on to Stage 2 for two years.

The focus of Stage 2 is advanced clinical processes, with four main areas:

1. More rigorous health information exchange (HIE)
2. Increased requirements for e-prescribing and incorporating lab results
3. Electronic transmission of patient care summaries across multiple settings
4. More patient-controlled data

• Stage 3

The focus of Stage 3 is improved outcomes, with five main areas:

1. Improving quality, safety, and efficiency, leading to improved health outcomes
2. Decision support for national high-priority conditions
3. Patient access to self-management tools
4. Access to comprehensive patient data through patient-centered HIE
5. Improving population health

Why is 2014 Such a Big Year for Meaningful Use?  

• Stage 2 Began

2014 is the first year that Stage 2 criteria have been effective and any providers who began Stage 1 in 2011 or 2012 are now required to begin Stage 2. 

• Last Year to Start Earning Incentives

2014 is the last year that a provider can start participating and earn any EHR incentives.  If a provider starts participating in 2014, they can still earn up to $24,000 in incentives.  In addition, providers must successfully demonstrate meaningful use by October 1, 2014 to avoid a 1% Medicare penalty in 2015.  In 2016, the penalty increases to 2% and then increases again to 3% in 2017.   

• 2014 Certified EHR Technology Required

In 2014, all providers are required to attest to meaningful use using only 2014 Certified EHR Technology, regardless of what stage they are on.  Because of this, all providers are only required to demonstrate meaningful use for a 3-month EHR reporting period.  This is to allow providers sufficient time to upgrade their systems to the necessary technology. 

This also means that all EHRs being used for Meaningful Use have to be recertified using the 2014 criteria by July 1, 2014 in order to allow providers to attest by the October 1^st deadline.

Sources:

www.cms.gov

www.healthit.gov