What is Meaningful Use?
Meaningful use is an incentive program set up by the government that incentives doctors to not just adopt, but use, certified electronic health records (EHR) technology like ChartLogic. Eligible professionals (EPs) and hospitals can receive up to $44,000 through Medicare or up to $63,750 through Medicaid over a span of several years. The meaningful use program is part of the HITECH Act passed in 2009.
To help EPs and hospitals transition to meaningful use compliance, the program is split into three stages.
- Stage 1: Began in 2011
- Stage 2: Begins in 2014
- Stage 3: Begins in 2016
EPs and hospitals will spend a minimum of two years on each stage. For more information about how the stages are split up, click here.
Incentive payments are front-loaded, meaning that biggest incentive checks will be distributed at the beginning of the program, with the maximum incentive amount decreasing each year. Up to $27 billion has been set aside for this program, and the government will continue issuing incentives until the money runs out.
The definition of “eligible professional” is based on the Social Security Act of 1932. Each state licensing board can impact the definition of a physician. Visit http://www.cms.gov to verify that you are eligible.
Specific information on stages, incentives, and FAQs can be found under the Meaningful Use tab.
