Incentive Programs / Meaningful Use

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 was intended to create jobs and promote investment and consumer spending during the recession. ARRA included the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which authorized incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid to clinicians and hospitals when they use EHRs to achieve specified improvements in healthcare delivery. This allows for incentive payments totaling up to $27 billion over 10 years.

The goal was not to just encourage adoption but meaningful use (MU) of EHRs. The Secretary of Health and Human Services was charged to develop the MU objectives. The incentive programs are run through Medicare and Medicaid and will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) as they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate MU of certified EHR technology. There are three main components (stages) to MU: use of a certified EHR in a meaningful manner, use of a certified EHR for electronic exchange of health information to improve quality of health care, and use of a certified EHR to submit clinical quality and other measures.

Meaningful Use
•    Definition and Objectives
•    Meeting the criteria of meaningful use of electronic health records earns healthcare providers reimbursement payments from an EHR incentive program.
•    CMS Meaningful Use Stage 1 Requirements Overview
•    CMS Meaningful Use Stage 2 Tip-sheet and Stage 2 Attestation Calculator
•    CMS Meaningful Use Stage 3 info and fact-sheet 
•    Meaningful Use Stage 3: Proposed Rule (3/30/15), federalregister.gov
•    The official web site for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs
•    Overview of EHR Incentive Programs 
•    EHR Adoption and Health Care Reform (PDF)

CMS rule to help providers make use of Certified EHR Technology
Proposed Changes to Meaningful Use Stage Timeline and the Use of CEHRT
AAMC Comments on Meaningful Use Stage 3 and 2015 Edition CEHRT Proposed Rules

Included here are links to on the benefits and challenges of EHR adoption, selection and implementation guidance.

CMS proposes rule changes to make it possible for more providers to fulfill Meaningful Use Stages l and ll

These links are for research only. They are not endorsed by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).

12/20/2022