QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: Entering the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) electronic health records incentive program

摘要

What is meaningful use? What is a certified electronic health record (EHR)? What is the reporting period for the Medicare incentive program? With the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service's Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health EHR Incentive Program now officially under way, the American Optometric Association (AOA) Health Information Technology Subcommittee finds more optometrists than ever have questions on the program's rules, the incentives offered, and what practitioners must do to take part in the program. To assist, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) frequently updates the agency Web site's "Electronic Health Records (EHR) Questions and Answers" page. The following information, designed to address some of the most common questions posed by optometrists seeking to enter the incentive program, is adapted from a recent posting to the site.