On July 13, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) released the much-anticipated Final Rule for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs (The Meaningful Use Final Rule).
Simultaneously, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) pursuant to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH) released its Final Rule on the initial standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for EHR and health information technology (HIT) (the Certification Criteria Final Rule). These two Final Rules establish what criteria and critical and technical standards constitute the meaningful use of EHR technology required for a provider to be eligible for incentive payments.
Polsinelli Shughart Attorneys Christopher Wilson and Micah Trotti have written an article explaining these two Final Rules for The American Health Lawyers Association. The article appears in Health Lawyers Weekly, August 13, 2010, Vol VIII, Issue 31.
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