"Meaningful Use" Posts

Portrait of Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo

Moving Toward Improved Care Through Information

Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | April 27, 2016

Seven years ago, Congress passed a law to spur the country to digitize the health care experience for Americans and connect doctor’s practices and hospitals, thereby modernizing patient care through the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Incentive Programs, also known as “Meaningful Use.” Before this shift began, many providers did not have the capital to invest in health information technology and patient information was siloed in paper records.  Since then, we have made incredible progress, with nearly all hospitals and three-quarters of doctors using EHRs.

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Portrait of Laurance Stuntz

South Cove Community Health Center Uses Electronic Health Records to Increase Patient Follow Ups

Laurance Stuntz | September 17, 2014

Leads to Increased Cancer Screening and Better Diabetes Management
The nation’s 62 Regional Extension Centers (RECs) have helped hundreds of thousands of health care providers, doctors, health clinics, and small rural hospitals across the nation learn the best practices for implementing and using electronic health records, or EHRs.  Working closely with partners in their cities and towns, RECs are helping drive innovation by assisting healthcare providers to spur practice transformation and provide better health care to their patients.

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Portrait of Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo

Advancing Adoption, Interoperability and Transformation – Regional Extension Centers Surpass 100,000 Providers to Stage 1 Meaningful Use

Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | September 17, 2014

In February 2014 we highlighted our regional extension centers’ (REC) success in supporting adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), and today, during National Health IT Week 2014, we are proud to announce the RECs have surpassed their goal and  now support over 100,000 providers to demonstrate Stage 1 Meaningful Use.

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Portrait of Judy Murphy

Meaningful Use Makes Lower Adverse Drug Rates A Reality

Judy Murphy | August 15, 2014

When the Health Information Technology for Economic and Digital Health (HITECH) Act was passed in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, hopes were high that widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) would reduce the rate of adverse drug events in hospitals.  Advocates believed incentives that encouraged hospitals and physicians to adopt EHRs would not only encourage faster adoption, but help to improve patient health. 

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Portrait of Paul Tang

Seeking Your Meaningful Use Experiences

Paul Tang | May 15, 2014

The Health IT Policy Committee’s (HITPC) Meaningful Use Workgroup is looking to learn about your meaningful use experiences.
We are hosting two virtual listening sessions – on May 20, 2014 and May 27, 2014 – where we want to hear about your successes and challenges to achieving meaningful use to inform our recommendations for Stage 3 of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs.

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