Meaningful Use Electronic Health Records Home Care Path

January 2011 hospitals and doctors can start applying for money for meaningful use of electronic health records. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) has authorized incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid to clinicians and hospitals when they use electronic health records privately and securely to achieve defined improvements in the quality of the care delivered. This funding translates to 44 thousand through Medicare and 63, 750 through Medicaid per medical provider.

Health organizations will invest more funding on health information technology in an effort to capture a portion of the money made available from this 2009 economic stimulus bill. The goal goes beyond getting the entire nation to use electronic health records. Meaningful use requires medical providers to achieve significant improvements in health care. Stage one of meaningful use is that medical providers be able to give patients a paper copy of their health record.

The meaningful use goals will flow from a process of development through (CMS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and (DHHS) The Department of Health and Human Services. The legislation has tied the financial reimbursement specifically to the achievement of advances in medical processes and health outcomes. Legislators changing medical providers behavior with money for the purpose of improving the health of the patient population.

Home Care Path www.homecarepath.com provides non medical in home custodial care for seniors in south central Wisconsin.