According to a recent communication from Chicago-based AHIMA, the most critical element of meaningful use is widespread adoption of standards-based certified EHRs that are accepted uniformly across the industry and do not vary by payer, patient, or provider groups.
The organization adds that meaningful use must be evaluated on the benefit it brings to consumers through improved coordination of care and the capture of improved clinical data.
In order to achieve adoption, care coordination, and improved capture and use of secondary data, AHIMA advises that measures:
- Reflect the end goals
- Be incremental
- Leverage the standards, certification, and information exchange progress of recent years
- Be auditable
- Be relevant to consumers
