From The Editor | November 17, 2010

Meaningful Use Within Reach

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By Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes

Last week, HIMSS Analytics released preliminary results of a survey it conducted on the capability of hospitals to meet meaningful use requirements. The data revealed that the 687 hospitals responding to the survey have the ability to meet both core and menu requirements for Stage 1 of meaningful use. The final rules designate a "core" group of requirements that must be met, plus an additional "menu" of procedures from which providers may choose, according to the government announcement of meaningful use.

The key findings of the survey revealed that:

  • Nearly one quarter (22%) of participating hospitals have the capability to achieve 10 or more of the 14 core measures that hospitals must meet under the meaningful use Stage 1 requirements.
  • Some 34% of respondents can achieve between five and nine of the core measures for meaningful use.
  • More than 40% of the market indicated that they have the capability to meet five or more of the menu items for meaningful use.

"Our data indicate that hospitals have the capability now to meet some of the requirements for meaningful use, which is significant in the lead up to the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs because they indicate that healthcare organizations continue to move toward implementation of health IT," says John P. Hoyt, FACHE, FHIMSS, Executive Vice President, HIMSS in an issued statement.

The survey results indicate that while many are on the path to EHR meaningful use, there is still much work that needs to be done to fully comply with these criteria. Also, it would be interesting to gain a better understanding of the ROI that healthcare facilities are realizing as a result of their EHR implementations to date. In other words, are they hospitals simply moving toward meaningful use to capitalize on Medicare and Medicaid incentives, or are they realizing the operational, efficiency, and cost cutting benefits that EHRs are supposed to generate? This, ultimately, is the whole reason the federal government has created an incentive program around EHR adoption in the first place.

Perhaps the answers to these and other questions will be revealed in future announcements by HIMSS Analytics. The organization plans to continuously monitor these trends and will release updated information each quarter beginning in January 2011. More information can be found on the HIMSS Analytics website (www.himssanalytics.org).

Ken Congdon is Editor In Chief of Health IT Outcomes. He can be reached at ken.congdon@jamesonpublishing.com.