Government Regulatory Programs: Meaningful Use

Meaningful Use for Hospitals

The EHR Incentive Program, commonly known as Meaningful Use, began in 2011 under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Incentive payments for early adopters started in 2012 and will continue for some providers until 2016. Beginning on October 1, 2014, eligible hospitals who do not meet Meaningful Use criteria will incur a reduction in their annual payment update (APU), eventually increasing to reach 75% of the APU in 2018.

Meaningful Use contains three stages, with each stage containing various objectives eligible hospitals need to meet to be considered compliant. These objectives support hospitals adoption of electronic health record data in a meaningful way such as to improve quality of care, engage families and their caregivers, and improve care coordination.

Stages of Meaningful Use for Hospitals

Stage 1 of Meaningful Use requires hospitals to meet 13 core objectives, 5 out of 10 menu objectives and attest to the collection of eClinical Quality Measures (eCQM). Core objectives include things such as maintaining active medication lists and providing patients an electronic copy of their health information after a hospital admission. Examples of menu objectives include generating lists of patients by specific conditions and the capability to submit eelectronic data to public agencies.

Stage 2 includes 16 core objectives, 3 out of 6 menu objectives, and attesting to the collection of eCQM data. In April of 2015 CMS released proposed rules modifying Stage 1 and Stage 2 as well as laying out proposals for Stage 3. One item in the proposed rule would require attestation to Stage 3 in 2018, regardless of a hospital’s prior Meaningful Use participation

Both Stage 1 and Stage 2 require that providers attest that they are able to collect eCQM, or submit the eCQM to CMS. As part of the Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, CMS has proposed that hospitals must begin submitting eCQM in 2016. Under Meaningful Use Stage 3, CMS has proposed that hospitals must successfully submit eCQM beginning in 2018.

Select the Right Partner for a Successful Transition

Press Ganey’s Quality Performer^SM Hospital eMeasures solution is designed to support regulatory reporting requirements for meaningful use, and offer insights to aid performance improvement initiatives. With constantly evolving reporting requirements, it is crucial to choose a partner committed to eCQM. Quality Performer combines leading data collection and transmission functionality, as well as robust reporting and analytical tools — all supported by the deep quality expertise of Press Ganey’s advisory services team.