ECM's Role In EHR Meaningful Use

By Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes

When The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed in February 2009, it provided substantial monetary incentives for healthcare facilities to adopt EHR systems. As a result, several healthcare institutions rushed to search for that one EHR technology that would help them satisfy the elusive meaningful use criteria that would award them those hefty payouts. However, as most came to realize, there is no one magic bullet technology that will allow a healthcare system to achieve meaningful use out of the box. Instead, meaningful use will be achieved through the effective implementation and integration of several sound technology systems and operational processes. One technology that will play a crucial role in EHR meaningful use is ECM. Healthcare Technology Online interviewed several industry experts to gain their insights into the value effective content management will have on today's EHR initiatives.