The Community Hospital's Guide To Meaningful Use

Compiled by Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes

Leaders from community hospitals throughout the U.S. highlight their EHR Meaningful Use strategies, progress, and best practices.

EHR Meaningful Use. It's something that all U.S. hospitals are striving for. However, not all hospitals will achieve Meaningful Use using the same blueprint. For example, small to midsize community hospitals are fundamentally different from large hospitals and healthcare systems. Large hospitals may not be able to appreciate the financial challenges community hospitals face when trying to implement an EHR, nor can they relate to the lack of technical experience many community hospitals have on staff. As aresult, the best advice on how to successfully implement an EHR and achieve Meaningful Use in a community hospital can only come from other community hospitals currently making strides in this area. Health IT Outcomes recently had the opportunity to interview leaders from six community hospitals of varying sizes about their EHR Meaningful Use strategies, progress, and best practices. We hope this insight can help you finetune your own Meaningful Use initiatives.