Meaningful Use

UnitedHealth Group has voluntarily recalled its OptumInsight emergency department electronic health record software after a glitch resulted in physician notes failing to appear in the records.

What I find stifling is the pace at which meaningful use is proceeding. When you put an entire industry under the MU pressure cooker, the need to meet federal mandates overwhelms anything else.

Meaningful use Stage 2 of the electronic health record incentive program is definitely tougher, and some elements of CPOE could catch providers off guard, says Laura Kreofsky, principal advisor at Impact Advisors.

Much of the challenge nationally for bringing healthcare into the digital age, says outgoing ONC chief Farzad Mostashari, will be "getting to a common base of capabilities around the country, so that these providers...have some common assumption of what the capabilities of the systems will be around interoperability."

Arguing that IT offers the opportunity to help "every American" lead a full and healthy life, the Consumer Partnership for eHealth, a coalition of more than 50 consumer, patient and labor organizations, has published an action plan designed to ensure that disparities of care are a critical focus of Stage 3 meaningful use.

As the federally-funded Beacon Community Program draws to a close, project leaders look back on their struggles and accomplishments -- and focus on what's ahead.

Allscripts President and CEO Paul M. Black, hired in December 2012 to rescue the troubled EHR vendor, and other company executives sounded defensive and optimistic notes this week as they attempt to regain the confidence of customers, investors and health IT industry analysts.

Citing concern about vendor readiness and that "significant investments" in EHR technology could go for naught, MGMA leadership is calling on HHS for an indefinite moratorium on meaningful use penalties for physicians who have completed Stage 1 meaningful use requirements.

With an array of industry groups anxiously calling for a delay of meaningful use Stage 2, HIMSS has made the case for a more nuanced approach, asking federal officials to launch Stage 2 on schedule but extend year one of the attestation period.

After an eventful two-year stint as deputy national coordinator, Farzad Mostashari, MD took the helm at ONC just as the meaningful use program began to gather steam. His tenure will be remembered as one of unprecedented change for the industry. Here's a look back at some of his star turns in Healthcare IT News over the years.