GE recently notified users of two Centricity products about meaningful use reporting issues that could prevent successful attestation. The HITECH Act offers financial reimbursements to medical practices and hospitals that adopt certified Electronic Health Records (EHR). Practices must meet meaningful use guidelines in order to qualify for the money.

The issue GE discovered affects Centricity’s ability to log and report compliance with certain meaningful use measures. According to articles on the topic, issues exist with race, ethnicity, smoking status, and educational resources. Reporting problems may prevent successful attestation.

GE recommends their clients double-check their numbers to make sure they are accurate, and to refrain from attesting until after GE deploys updates. GE instructs users who have already attested to run reports once the updates are in place. GE users should also check in with their Regional Extension Center (REC) representatives for further recommendations.

GE is a respected company with quality software; even they are susceptible to errors. I have been working with the developers here at XLEMR on our meaningful use reporting module. I can testify that the calculations involved are numerous and complex. Any practices attesting meaningful use should check and double-check their reports regardless of their EHR vendor.

EHR users should be in constant communication with their REC. Interpretation of some requirements, such as clinical summaries, seems to change over time and vary between states. With the amount of money at stake, up to $18,000 for stage one, practices should go over each measure with their REC and make sure their attestation plans will work.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about meaningful use, reporting, or how you can participate in the HITECH stimulus package.