Meaningful Use

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Commonwealth Fund have concluded that electronic health record systems and other digital tools are likely to curb the demand for physicians in the future.

The Stage 2 numbers for eligible docs are what some might call a little bit scary. Most office-based physicians are not prepared for the October 2014 beginning attestation date. In fact, many aren't even close.

To say that John Glaser has had a front-row seat in the health IT arena over the past 10 years -- and the 10 years before that -- would be wrong. He's been in the trenches, sleeves rolled up. Glaser contemplates not only the past, but also what to expect going forward.

The healthcare IT industry just marked the 10-year anniversary of then President George W. Bush's call to action -- in his 2004 State of the Union address -- to finally transform a paper-mired healthcare system into a digital-age industry. CIOs and other industry insiders speak to the progress and look to the future of health IT.

As far as Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, is concerned, the $34 billion health IT and electronic medical record incentive program was a grave misstep for the healthcare industry -- but not necessarily for the reasons one might think.

Meaningful use -- it's not just for healthcare providers anymore. Patients are paying attention to meaningful use of electronic health data; they're understanding, and now they want it.

Patient portals have proven to be far more than just a convenient tool for patients to access their health information. These Web-based portals are also doing big things for improving care.

A rural Montana hospital has filed suit against a big name electronic health record system provider alleging the company violated its contract by both failing to install an EHR system by the set deadline and not providing a system that meets 2014 federal meaningful use criteria.

With Congress working on a long-term Medicare "SGR fix" in the recent short-term budget deal, lawmakers laid down seeds for addressing issues such as value-based reimbursement and EHR compatibility.

The push for meaningful use Stage 3 has reached a point where a confluence of power structures are ready for more breakthroughs -- hence, the impetus for collaboration among IHE USA, ONC and S&I Framework, officials from these groups say.