Comments on the draft description of “Meaningful Use” for Electronic Health Records are due by 5 pm (EST) June 26, 2009

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology released for comment a draft definition of “meaningful use” of electronic health records on June 16, 2009. Later this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will issue a proposed rule to clarify the definition, which hospitals and physicians must meet to be eligible for the more than $17 billion in health IT funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The preliminary definition calls for a timeline beginning in 2011 wherein meaningful use is linked to improving quality, safety, efficiency, care coordination, population and public health; reducing health disparities; engaging patients and their families; and ensuring adequate privacy and security protections for personal health information. “The proposed requirements for 2011 may be too aggressive for most providers to achieve. Comments are due by June 26 and your opinion could help change the final definition