HOW WILL MEANINGFUL USE AFFECT PROFESSIONALS AND PROVIDERS?
As indicated, the incentives program for EHR technology aims to improve the efficiency and quality of care and reduce costs. However, deploying EHR systems and using them in accordance with meaningful use requirements may force health care providers to devote significant resources to user training and to creating both paper and electronic reports. Some in the industry thus have criticized the proposed rules as too complicated, warning that providers and hospitals may have a hard time meeting them. The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), for example, expressed concern that meaningful use reporting requirements could be excessive and overly burdensome. Others warn that many providers face challenges meeting meaningful use criteria and may not be prepared to meet the deadlines; the same is true of hospitals trying to achieve meaningful use, even those with EHR systems already in place. Still others in the industry caution that the meaningful use requirements c
