Healthcare Intelligence Network

CMS has proposed 25 objectives for eligible providers (EPs) to demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs to further the care goal of improving quality, safety, efficiency and reducing health disparities. Read the measures necessary for each objective in the full CMS proposed rule. More than $17 billion in federal funds have been set aside as incentives for meaningful use of certified EHRs.

Click here for CMS’s 23 EHR meaningful use objectives for eligible hospitals.

1. Use computerized physician order entry (CPOE) to directly enter medical orders (for example, medications, consultations with other providers, laboratory services, imaging studies, and other auxiliary services) from a computer or mobile device.
2. Implement drug-drug, drug-allergy, drug-formulary checks.
3. Maintain an up-to-date problem list of current and active diagnoses based on ICD-9-CM or SNOMED CT®.

4. Generate and transmit permissible prescriptions electronically (eRx).
5. Maintain active medication list.
6. Maintain active medication allergy list.
7. Record the following demographics: preferred language, insurance type, gender, race and ethnicity and date of birth.
8. Record and chart changes in the following vital signs: height, weight and blood pressure and calculate and display body mass index (BMI) for ages 2 and over; plot and display growth charts for children 2 – 20 years, including BMI.
9. Record smoking status for patients 13 years old or older.
10. Incorporate clinical lab-test results into EHR as structured data — data that have specified data type and response categories within an electronic record or file.
11. Generate lists of patients by specific conditions to use for quality improvement, reduction of disparities, research and outreach.
12. Report ambulatory quality measures to CMS (or, for EPs seeking the Medicaid incentive payment, to individual states).
13. Send reminders to patients per patient preference for preventive/follow-up care. Patient preference refers to the patient’s choice of delivery method between Internet-based delivery or delivery not requiring Internet access.
14. Implement five clinical decision support rules relevant to specialty or high clinical priority, including for diagnostic test ordering, along with the ability to track compliance with those rules.
15. Check insurance eligibility electronically from public and private payors.
16. Submit claims electronically to public and private payors.
17. Provide patients with an electronic copy of their health information (including diagnostic test results, problem list, medication lists and allergies) upon request

18. Provide patients with timely electronic access to their health information (including lab results, problem list, medication lists, allergies)

19. Provide clinical summaries to patients for each office visit.
20. Capability to exchange key clinical information (for example, problem list, medication list, allergies, and diagnostic test results) among providers of care and patient authorized entities electronically.
21. Perform medication reconciliation at relevant encounters and each transition of care.
22. Provide summary care record for each transition of care and referral.
23. Capability to submit electronic data to immunization registries and actual submission where required and accepted.

24. Capability to provide electronic syndromic surveillance data to public health agencies and actual transmission according to applicable law and practice.

25. Protect electronic health information maintained using certified EHR technology through the implementation of appropriate technical capabilities.