EHR Incentive Program (Meaningful Use)

On July 28, 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule defining “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs). At the same time, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology issued a final rule that sets certification criteria, standards and implementation specifications for EHR technology. Taken together, these regulations set EHR adoption requirements that hospitals and physicians must meet in order to qualify for additional Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments beginning in 2011 and to avoid significant payment penalties in 2015 and later years.