Stage 2 MU Sticking Points

Compiled by Ken Congdon, Editor In Chief, Healthcare Technology Online

Patient engagement and medical image integration are the top Stage 2 Meaningful Use concerns for many providers. Learn how these four EHR early adopters plan to tackle these issues and achieve successful attestation.

The primary goal of Stage 1 Meaningful Use (MU) was to get health providers to establish a technology foundation and to begin adopting new workflow habits that facilitate the collection and distribution of patient data electronically. Stage 2 MU continues this progression, but it also takes a philosophical leap by requiring providers to start giving some patients the ability to access their health data and communicate with physicians electronically. This requirement was vehemently opposed by key medical communities, such as the American Hospital Association (AHA), and it is the area most likely to trip up providers as they prepare for attestation.

While many healthcare organizations continue to complain about how unfair and misguided several Stage 2 MU criteria are, others are rolling up their sleeves to ensure they are on track to meet these new requirements and collect their incentive dollars. These trailblazers will likely engineer the winning strategies that other providers will copy in their journey to MU. I had the opportunity to speak with technology leaders from four of these forward-thinking providers — MedStar Health, Adventist Midwest Health, The Veranda, and South Austin Medical Clinic — to learn more about their Stage 2 preparations.