Discussing the Meaning of Meaningful Use

The ramifications of the Meaningful Use Standards Implementation Specifications and Criteria final rules are wide- ranging, and beg discussion.  To me, this discussion seems to be a natural outgrowth of the myriad of sectors of the healthcare industry that are affected by these rules.   We are all working to find the meaning of Meaningful Use.

The goal of HIMSS Meaningful Use Final Rules webinar series is to further these discussions within the industry and provide insights on the rules from valued members of the community.

C. Martin Harris, MD, MBA, FHIMSS, HIMSS Chairman of the Board, CIO & Chairman IT Division, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, helped frame the discussion among the HIMSS community during the webinar “Overview of Meaningful Use” originally broadcast on July 21, 2010.  Dr. Harris stated “the journey (toward Meaningful Use) has now started” and defined the purpose of the Meaningful Use Standards Implementation Specifications and Criteria final rules to:

• Improve quality, safety, efficiency and reduce health disparities;
• Engage patients and families;
• Improve care coordination;
• Ensure adequate privacy and security protections for personal health information and;
• Improve population and public health.

This discussion is not just taking place within the industry itself, but between the industry and the government.  

During the July 28 webinar, “Implication of Meaningful Use for Eligible Hospitals,” Amy Thorpe, BSIE, MBA, Director of Applications, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System, Chair, HIMSS Enterprise Information Systems Committee and Edna Boone, MASS, CPHIMS, Senior Director, Healthcare Information Systems, discussed the effects of the over 2000 comments submitted to HHS between the interim and final rules.  She pointed out how these comments helped HHS to adjust the final rules to find a healthy balance of requirements. 

Edna stated that “the numbers of objectives and thresholds have been greatly reduced.  The quality measures were reduced from 35 in interim rule to 15. Likewise, objectives were reduced from 23 down to a set of 14 core objectives and a set of menu objectives, there are 10 of those, of which a hospital must select 5, and then some of the administrative and financial objectives were deferred to stage 2.”

It is this change in philosophy and tactics from HHS that presents an opportunity for greater adoption of the required technologies across the industry.   In the webinar, “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care,” originally aired on August 4, HIMSS board member, Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, FHIMSS Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Elsevier, builds on the theme of Edna’s comment by discussing how “emphasis was placed on ensuring adoption first.  Quality initiative provisions were essentially deferred for 2 years, in expectation that more providers will be comfortable with their new EHR systems,” before the date of phase 2 implementation.

These are just a few examples of the type of discussion on Meaningful Use that has taken place through the HIMSS Meaningful Use Final Rules Webinar series.  But don’t take my word for it.  You can access all of the webinars within the series on demand in the HIMSS eLearning Academy.

My question to you:  What discussions do we need to foster in the future on this topic?  What webinar subjects would you want to see HIMSS produce for the community?