Transforming and improving health care through meaningful use of health information technology

Use of electronic health records (EHRs)is becoming more and more common. It is anticipated that their use will improve patient care, decrease practice costs, and increase provider productivity and revenue. The State of Hawai'i has received funding to assist Hawai'i and Pacific providers in their selection of qualified EHR products that will meet federal Medicare and Medicaid requirements for "Meaningful Use." This article describes federal recommendations and resources available to Hawai'i providers. While it can be fairly overwhelming for small practices to convert to EHRs, there is technical assistance available to support Hawai'i providers in meeting the Meaningful Use requirements of EHR usage in order to become eligible for financial incentives and to improve positive health outcomes for patients. On October 31st, 2011, there were 138,570 eligible professionals and eligible hospitals registered for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs nationally. These providers have received $1,238,000,000 in incentives since January 2011. In Hawai'i there are approximately 400 active registrations for the Medicare program, of which 95 have been successful at meeting Meaningful Use criteria and have received $8.1 million in incentive payments from Medicare. The State of Hawai'i is preparing to launch its Medicaid EHR incentive program in mid-to-late 2012, which should produce additional payments to Hawai'i's health care providers.