The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) want to help you on your journey to becoming a meaningful user of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.  Here are resources about meaningful use, Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, and the EHR certification process to help guide you:

Meaningful Use and Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs

1) Meaningful Use Overview
https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/01_Overview.asp

2) Path to Payment
https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/10_PathtoPayment.asp

3) PowerPoint Presentation: Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs Final Rule
https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/EHR_Incentive_Program_Agency_Training_v8-20.pdf

4) Timeline: Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/EHRIncentProgtimeline508V1.pdf

5) Being a Meaningful User of Electronic Health Records
http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/ehr-incentives-certification

6) Meaningful Use Specification Sheets
https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/EP-MU-TOC-Core-and-MenuSet-Objectives.pdf

7) Flow Chart – Determine Eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/downloads/eligibility_flow_chart.pdf

Certification

1) Certification Programs Overview
http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/certification-process-ehr-technologies

2) Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule Fact Sheet
http://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/ONC_FS_EHR_Stage_2_Final_082312.pdf

3) HITECH Temporary Certification Program for EHR Technology
http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/temporary-certification-program

4) Temporary Certification Program Final Rule Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/standards-certification-regulations-faqs

5) Permanent Certification Program
http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/certification-and-ehr-incentives

6) Certified Health IT Product List
http://www.healthit.gov/chpl

Privacy and Security

1) Advancing Privacy and Security in the Health Information Exchange
http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/advancing-privacy-and-security-health-information-exchange

2) Health Information Privacy and Information on HIPAA
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/

For additional resources on certification and meaningful use check out ONC’s Meaningful Use resources:
http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/meaningful-use-resources.

ONC has also funded 62 Regional Extension Centers, located across the country, to offer customized, on-the-ground assistance for providers who need help adopting and meaningfully using certified EHR technology.

You can also stay up to date on ONC and CMS activities by:

• Signing up for ONC’s e-mail updates or
• Visiting CMS’ Spotlight and Upcoming Events at: https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/50_Spotlight.asp

What resources or tools from ONC, CMS, or other organizations have you or your practice used to help you become a meaningful user? What challenges have you faced on your road to meaningful use? We encourage you to start a dialogue and share your comments below.