Groups Back Proposed Electronic Health Record Definition
Four of the nation's leading consumer advocate groups endorsed the Obama administration's definition of what constitutes an electronic health record, a requirement clinicians and facilities must meet to receive federal funds, Nextgov.com reported Tuesday.
The Consumers Union and AARP have given their support to the proposed meaningful use rule as outlined by the Health and Human Services Department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). But the rule, as explained in a 556-page document, wasn't positively received by many doctors, who submitted most of the more than 1,000 comments received since Jan. 7. They zeroed in on the rule's complexity, length and lack of understanding of the realities of the challenges they face in their day-to-day work.
The comment period closed on Monday. Many health-related groups supported the rules. The Consumer Partnership for eHealth, which includes the National Partnership for Women and Families, and the Pacific Business Group on Health, a coalition of companies and public sector groups that work to improve quality of care and reduce costs, also urged CMS to keep the proposed rules, arguing they will reduce medical errors and improve patient safety.
If adopted, the rules will govern who receives federal incentive payments of up to $44,000 each for doctors and up to $2 million each for hospitals that follow the proposed meaningful use definition when establishing electronic health record systems. The subsidies are part of the economic stimulus package Congress passed in February 2009, which included about $20 billion for health information technology.
"We are convinced that CMS is on the right track to ensure that taxpayer money is well-spent," said Christine Bechtel, vice president of the National Partnership for Women and Families and a member of the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, which advises HHS. "These criteria are achievable because they are based on the capabilities of today's [electronic health records] and what is already being done by some providers." To read more, click here.
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