With the discussions surrounding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the health IT space race it has launched, there are any number of new terms and concepts with which the broader health community is now dealing.
But where do we find common definitions for these concepts?
One place to start may be a recent post by John Halamka, entitled “A Healthcare IT Primer.” In it, Halamka provides insights into the concepts of EHR, EMR, and PHR.
He also offers the following definition of “meaningful use”:
“Meaningful use” is demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the professional is using a certified EHR in a meaningful manner, which includes the use of e-prescribing, electronic HIE, and submission of information on clinical quality measures. Additional clarity on interoperability will be complete by the end of 2009. I do not believe clinicians should wait for all the details before investing. They should begin EHR implementation now.
For more frequently asked questions about health IT see A Healthcare IT Primer.
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I think it would be appropriate to consider what the the Health IT “czar”, Dr. David Blumenthal wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine this month in the article entitled “Stimulating the Adoption of Health Information Technology. I am sure all would agree that his opinion is one of the few that “really count” when referring to ARRA and the concept of “meaningful use”. He states, ” ..if EHRs are to catalyze quality improvement and cost control, physicians and hospitals will have to use them effectively. That means taking advantage of embedded clinical decision supports that help physicians take better care of their patients. By tying Medicare and Medicaid payments to “meaningful use” Congress has given the administration an important tool for motivating providers to take full advantage of EHRs ……. This clearly suggests that “embedded clinical decision supports” is central to Dr. Blumenthal’s understanding of “meaningful use” — a quality which, to the best of my knowledge, CCHIT does not yet “certify”. Of course, Dr. Blumenthal had already stated in the article that “many certified [by CCHIT-my addition] EHRs are neither user friendly nor designed to meet HITECH’s ambitious goal improving quality and efficiency in the health care system”. I find his words to be particularly insightful.
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