To receive the financial incentives, eligible physicians and hospitals must demonstrate "Meaningful Use" of the EMR system, which raises the question, "What constitutes ‘Meaningful Use’?" The preliminary definition of meaningful use requirements were issued on January 13th and we are currently in a 60-day comment period, according to David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The final definition of the "Meaningful Use" that will be used to determine eligibility for incentive payments will be available in the spring of 2010.
In the meantime, the federal HIT Policy Committee has approved recommendations of a workgroup for an interim definition of "Meaningful Use". The requirements are staged with certain criteria and measures required to receive payments in 2011 and 2012, and additional requirements that must be met to receive incentive payments in 2013 and 2014, and even more in 2015. The staging of requirements was based on a balance between their importance and the ability of the industry to implement them.