Stage 2 Emphasis on Patient Engagement and Health Information Exchange
By Brian Ahier, Healthcare, Technology& Government 2.0
Some of the most important changes in the rules for Stage 2 Meaningful Use and the 2014 Edition Standards & Certification Criteria (S&CC) are around patient engagement and health information exchange. While these requirements were backed off some from the proposed rule, there is still a strong emphasis on these aspects of the program. I think these are two of the most critical aspects of meaningful use and could help us eventually achieve the goals of improving the patient experience and lowering healthcare costs.
One new Stage 2 Meaningful Use Core Objective that all providers must meet is to use secure electronic messaging to communicate with patients on relevant health information. Another new Stage 2 Core Objective that all providers must meet is to provide patients the ability to view online, download and transmit their health information within four business days of the information being available. The specifics require that 50% of all unique patients are given access to information, and that five percent (down from 10% in the proposed rule) are able to view, download or transmit to a third party relevant health information. These measures require…