A Narrative Review of Meaningful Use and Anesthesia Information Management Systems

The US federal government has enacted legislation for a federal incentive program for health care providers and hospitals to implement electronic health records. The primary goal of the Meaningful Use (MU) program is to drive adoption of electronic health records nationwide and set the stage to monitor and guide efforts to improve population health and outcomes. The MU program provides incentives for the adoption and use of electronic health record technology and, in some cases, penalties for hospitals or providers not using the technology. The MU program is administrated by the Department of Health and Human Services and is divided into 3 stages that include specific reporting and compliance metrics. The rationale is that increased use of electronic health records will improve the process of delivering care at the individual level by improving the communication and allow for tracking population health and quality improvement metrics at a national level in the long run. The goal of this narrative review is to describe the MU program as it applies to anesthesiologists in the United States. This narrative review will discuss how anesthesiologists can meet the eligible provider reporting criteria of MU by applying anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) in various contexts in the United States. Subsequently, AIMS will be described in the context of MU criteria. This narrative literature review also will evaluate the evidence supporting the electronic health record technology in the operating room, including AIMS, independent of certification requirements for the electronic health record technology under MU in the United States.