Meaningful Adoption: What We Know or Think We Know About the Financing, Effectiveness, Quality, and Safety of Electronic Medical Records

Abstract

As ONC is working hard to draft the final regulations for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use (MU), its policy teams are working on the framework for Stage 3. Although the stimulus program has several more years to run early adopters who sought to maximize their receipt of federal funding will soon be reaching the mid-point of their journey. As a result data points are now emerging for some of the more important features of the program’s implementation. These data points can be compared to expectations set both in 2009 and earlier. This article reviews the history of MU and examines the level of current and projected implementation. It challenges the basis for some of the positive cheerleading surrounding the subsidy program and questions the quality of the installed base of EMRs. The critical analysis then extends outside of compliance with the quality and effectiveness requirements of MU to safety externalities and their regulatory and liability implications.