Meaningful Use

Meaningful Use of EHRs:A U.S. Public Policy Case Study

Nawanan Theera-Ampornpunt, M.D., Ph.D.Department of Community Medicine

Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi HospitalNovember 8, 2015

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1991: IOM’s CPR Report published

1996: HIPAA enacted

2000-2001: IOM’s To Err Is Human & Crossing the Quality Chasm published

2004: George W. Bush’s Executive Order establishing ONCHIT (ONC)

2009-2010: ARRA/HITECH Act & “Meaningful Use” regulations

U.S. Public Policy Related to eHealth

(IOM, 2001)(IOM, 2000) (IOM, 2011)

Landmark IOM Reports

• To Err is Human (IOM, 2000) reported that: – 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year

as a result of preventable medical mistakes

– Mistakes cost U.S. hospitals $17 billion to $29 billion yearly

– Individual errors are not the main problem

– Faulty systems, processes, and other conditions lead to preventable errors

Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version

3.0/Spring 2012 Introduction to Healthcare and Public Health in the US: Regulating Healthcare - Lecture d

Patient Safety

• Humans are not perfect and are bound to make errors

• Highlight problems in U.S. health care system that systematically contributes to medical errors and poor quality

• Recommends reform

• Health IT plays a role in improving patient safety

Landmark IOM Reports: Summary

“...We will make wider use of electronic records and other health information technology, to help control costs and reduce

dangerous medical errors.”

Source: Wikisource.org Image Source: Wikipedia.org

President George W. BushSixth State of the Union Address

January 31, 2006

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Political Support Behind Health IT

U.S. Adoption of Health IT

• U.S. lags behind other Western countries (Schoen et al, 2006;Jha et al, 2008)

• Money and misalignment of benefits is the biggest reason

Ambulatory (Hsiao et al, 2009) Hospitals (Jha et al, 2009)

Basic EHRs w/ notes 7.6%Comprehensive EHRs 1.5%CPOE 17%

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

• Economic Stimulus Legislation• Contains HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for

Economic and Clinical Health Act)• ~ 20 billion dollars for Health IT investments

Goals:1. Boost economy (economic health)2. Widespread adoption of Health IT (clinical health)

Quality Patient Safety Costs

President Obama Backs Health IT

“...Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new technology

that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy, and save lives.”

President Barack Obama

Address to Joint Session of Congress

February 24, 2009Source: WhiteHouse.gov

U.S. National Leadership on Health IT

David Blumenthal, MD, MPPNational Coordinator for Health Information Technology (2009 - 2011)

Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScMNational Coordinator for Health Information Technology (2011 - 2013)

Robert Kolodner, MDNational Coordinator for Health Information Technology (2006 - 2009)

David Brailer, MD, PhDNational Coordinator for Health Information Technology (2004 - 2007)

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology(ONC -- formerly ONCHIT)

Photos courtesy of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MScNational Coordinator for Health Information Technology (2014)

HITECH Act & “Meaningful Use”

of EHRs

Blumenthal D. Launching HITECH. N Engl J Med. 2010 Feb 4;362(5):382-5.

HITECH Act

“Meaningful Use” of EHRs

• Use of “Certified EHR Technology” (CEHRT) by providers (eligible professionals, eligible hospitals & critical access hospitals) to achieve significant improvements in care

• Financial incentives & penalties

Incentives for Eligible Professionals (Doctors)

• Medicaid incentives for eligible professionals– Maximum $63,750 over 6 years beginning in 2011

• Medicare payments for eligible professionals– Maximum $44,000 over 5 years

Incentives for Eligible Hospitals

http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/MLN_TipSheet_MedicareHospitals.pdf

“Meaningful Use” of A Pumpkin

“Meaningful Use” of a Pumpkin

Pumpkin

Image Source & Idea Courtesy of Pat Wise at HIMSS, Oct. 2009

Meaningful Use of EHRs: ONC’s 3-Stage Approach

Stage 1- Electronic capture of health information- Information sharing- Data reporting

Stage 2

Use of EHRsto improve processes of care

Stage 3

Use of EHRs to improve outcomes

Better Health

Blumenthal D, 2010

Components of Meaningful Use Regulations

• Medicare & Medicaid Incentives for Meaningful Use of EHRs– Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

• Rule on Standards, Implementation Specifications & Certification Criteria

• Certification Programs– Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC)

Meaningful Use Incentives: Stage 1

Proposed Rule (Jan. 2010)

• 23 Criteria for Hospitals to Pass• 25 Criteria for Professionals (Clinics) to Pass

Public Hearing

• Pace & Scope: too ambitious, demanding, inflexible• Few providers would likely qualify -> Little adoption

Final Rule (2011)

• Core Objectives (14 criteria for Hospitals, 15 for Professionals, required)• Menu Set (10 criteria, pick 5)

Blumenthal D, Tavenner M. The “meaningful use” regulation for electronic health records. N Engl J Med. 2010;363(6):501-4.


Meaningful Use Stage 1 Criteria







Some Selected Meaningful Use Stage 1 Final Rule: Core Objectives

• Electronic capture of information– Demographics– Vital signs– Medication list– Allergies– Problem list– Smoking

• Medication order entry• Drug-allergy & drug-drug interaction checks• Patient access to/copy of health information

Some Selected Meaningful Use Stage 1 Final Rule: Menu Set

• Drug formulary checks• Lab results incorporation into EHRs• Generate lists of patients by specific conditions• Medication reconciliation• Electronic reporting to governmental agencies• Advanced directives for elderly patients• Patient reminders for certain services (for clinics)• Patient access to health information (for clinics)

Final Rule on Standards & Certification Criteria (Selected)

• Content Exchange Standards– HL7 CDA Release 2 & CCD– NCPDP SCRIPT

• Vocabularies• SNOMED CT– LOINC®

– RxNorm®

• Security– NIST-certified encryption algorithms

• Etc.

http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/Stage2Overview_Tipsheet.pdf

Stages & Timeline of Meaningful Use

Evolution of Meaningful Use Objectives in Each Stage

• 2011 Definition Stage 1:– 14 Core Objectives for Hospitals– 15 Core Objectives for Professionals– Pick 5 of 10 Menu Set Objectives


Evolution of Meaningful Use Objectives in Each Stage

• 2014 Definition Stage 1:– 11 Core Objectives for Hospitals– 13 Core Objectives for Professionals– Pick 5 of 10 Menu Set Objectives for Hospitals– Pick 5 of 9 Menu Set Objectives for Professionals


Meaningful Use Stage 2 Objectives (2014)for Eligible Professionals


Meaningful Use Stage 2 Objectives (2014)for Eligible Professionals


Meaningful Use Stage 2 Objectives (2014) for Hospitals


Meaningful Use Stage 2 Objectives (2014) for Hospitals


Critique:Lessons for Thailand

Disclaimer: Personal opinions of the speaker

Lesson #1

Clear aim toward improved quality & efficiency of health care.

Lesson #2

Large health IT initiatives require leadership from the highest level

of government.

Lesson #3

To achieve widespread health IT adoption, substantial financial

investment is necessary.

Lesson #4

Leadership from a national organization with health informatics

expertise is vital to success.

Lesson #5

Criteria for “Meaningful Use” should be evidence-based

to the extent possible.

Lesson #6

Criteria for incentives should be realistic and flexible.

Lesson #7

Criteria for incentives should be evolutionary.

Lesson #8

Accept local diversity in technologies & requirements.

Don’t aim for homogeneous environment.

Lesson #9

Leverage existing standards to the extent possible.

Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Lesson #10

Acknowledge that more than one level of interoperability needs to be

achieved.

Lesson #11

A policy that attempts to move too fast or be too dynamic will greatly

burden providers

Lesson #12

“Meaningful Use” focuses too much on functionality, with questions on true interoperability, and with little attention on usability, ease of use & provider acceptance of technology

Take Home Message

• Adoption of health IT still work in progress, even in developed countries

• We can learn something from other countries• We need to do something, soon.• Don’t forget to build the workforce!!

Useful Online Resources• www.healthit.gov• www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-

Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/index.html• www.himss.org/EconomicStimulus/• www.amia.org/public-policy/testimony-comments-reports• www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp0912825• www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1006114

http://www.healthit.gov/

http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/index.html

http://www.himss.org/EconomicStimulus/

http://www.amia.org/public-policy/testimony-comments-reports

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp0912825

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1006114

References• Blumenthal D. Launching HITECH. N Engl J Med. 2010 Feb 4;362(5):382-5.

• Blumenthal D, Tavenner M. The “meaningful use” regulation for electronic health records. N Engl J Med. 2010 Aug 5;363(6):501-4.

• Hsiao C, Beatty PC, Hing ES, Woodwell DA. Electronic medical record/electronic health record use by office-based physicians: United States, 2008 and preliminary 2009 [Internet]. 2009 [cited 2010 Apr 12]; Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/emr_ehr/emr_ehr.pdf

• Jha AK, DesRoches CM, Campbell EG, Donelan K, Rao SR, Ferris TG, Shields A, Rosenbaum S, Blumenthal D. Use of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals. N Engl J Med. 2009;360(16):1628-38.

• Jha AK, Doolan D, Grandt D, Scott T, Bates DW. The use of health information technology in seven nations. Int J Med Inform. 2008;77(12):848-54.

• Schoen C, Osborn R, Huynh PT, Doty M, Puegh J, Zapert K. On the front lines of care: primary care doctors’ office systems, experiences, and views in seven countries. Health Aff (Millwood). 2006;25(6):w555-71.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/emr_ehr/emr_ehr.pdf