Since becoming law on February 17, 2009 by President Barrack Obama, Shealy Group executives have devoted hundreds of hours to understand the legislation and the impact it will have on eligible providers, hospitals and patients.
July 2010: as the healthcare industry awaited the final rulings for Meaningful Use, many providers wondered about its impact and how they could successfully implement Meaningful Use into their everyday workflow. How will it work for me? What is my cost vs. benefit ratio? How much more of my time will this consume? Even after the announcement, these questions and many others are still buzzing across the spectrum of practices.
To grasp and gauge the potential effectiveness of Meaningful Use, healthcare providers need to step outside the narrow confines of a single doctor or practice, and look to the horizon of healthcare as a whole. The concept of technology as an integral part of patient care is not new, but the vision of consistent and managed care along with unprecedented connectivity between providers is not only groundbreaking, but downright daunting as well.
The Meaningful Use rulings were not established to bog down providers with more complicated restrictions - they were established with the simple underlying goal of improving patient care using EHR systems that recognize mandatory baseline certifications. Although tempting and essential for acceptance, the incentive-based methodology of Meaningful Use should not be the driving force - it should be the end result of improved patient care.
As patient care becomes more intelligent and patient information becomes more readily available to providers, stabilized tracks like Meaningful Use become more vital to the industry. These tracks will guide us towards informed clinical decisions and lead to that new level of patient care on the horizon.
The Shealy Group provides innovative solutions to physician practices that are designed to achieve CMS Stage One Meaningful Use guidelines and qualify for government incentives.
Reporting begins January 1, 2011…
Is your Practice Ready?
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