Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology in U.S. Hospitals

Abstract

In April 2009, using a definition of electronic health records that was based on expert consensus, we described the small number of acute care hospitals in the United States that had these systems.1 Since that time, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the Department of Health and Human Services has announced a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; these provisions include incentive payments for the "meaningful use" of certified electronic health record technology.2 In its proposed standard of meaningful use, the CMS uses a 5-year, three-stage, phase-in process focusing on health care quality, safety, and efficiency.