The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the final meaningful use rules on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010, at 10:00 AM. These rules outline the features Electronic Health Record (EHR) software must provide in order to become certified. Purchasing software with the required features is not enough; physicians will have to use the features according to defined measures in order to qualify for the stimulus funds.

HHS has revised the meaningful use rules proposed back in January to make them easier for practices to implement. They split the requirements into two groups: a core group, and an optional group. The core group includes 15 items practices must implement in order to qualify. The optional group includes 14 items; practice must choose five of these to implement in 2011 and 2012.

Record patient demographics (sex, race, ethnicity, date of birth, and preferred language) for more than 50% of patients.

Record vial signs and chart changes (height, weight, blood pressure, body-mass index, growth charts for children) for more than 50% of patients aged two years or older.

Maintain up-to-date problem list of current and active diagnoses for more than 80% of patients.

Maintain active medication lists for more than 80% of patients.

Maintain active medication allergy lists for more than 80% of patients.

Record smoking status for patients 13 years of age or older for more than 50% of patients.

Provide patients with clinical summaries for each office visit for more than 50% of all office visits within three business days.

Provide patients with an electronic copy of their health information (including diagnostic test results, problem list, medication lists, and medication allergies) for more than 50% of requesting patients within three business days.

Generate and transmit permissible prescriptions electronically for more than 40% of all prescriptions.

Computer provider order entry (CPOE) for medication orders for more than 30% of patients with at least one medication in their medication list.

Implement drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks for the entire reporting period.

Implement capability to electronically exchange key clinical information among providers and patient-authorized entities and perform at least one test of this functionality.

Implement one clinical decision support rule and ability to track compliance with the rule.

Implement systems to protect privacy and security of patient data in the EHR by conducting or reviewing a security risk analysis, implementing security updates as necessary, and correcting identified security deficiencies.

Report clinical quality measures to CMS or states. For 2011, provide aggregate numerator and denominator through attestation; for 2012, electronically submit measures.

Implement drug formulary checks with access to at least one internal or external drug formulary for the entire reporting period.

Incorporate clinical laboratory test results into EHRs as structured data for more than 40% of test results that are in positive/negative or numerical format.

Generate lists of patients by specific conditions to use for quality improvement, reduction of disparities, research, or outreach, and generate at least one listing of patients with a specific condition.

Use EHR technology to identify patient-specific education resources and provide those to the patient as appropriate for more than 10% of patients.

Perform medication reconciliation between care settings for more than 50% of transitions of care.

Provide summary of care record for patients referred or transitioned to another provider or setting for more than 50% of patient transitions or referrals.

Submit electronic immunization data to immunization registries or immunization information systems. Perform at least one test of data submission and follow up submission.

Submit electronic syndromic surveillance data to public health agencies. Perform at least one test of data submission and follow up submission.

Send reminders to patients for preventative and follow up care for more than 20% of patients 65 years or older, or five years old or younger.

Provide patients with timely electronic access to their health information, including laboratory results, problem list, medication lists, and medication allergies for more than 10% of patients within four days of entry into the EHR.

XLEMR is fully equipped to meet the final meaningful use requirements. We will refund* your money in the event our system does not meet the final requirements or receive HITECH-certification.

XLEMR will refund the purchase price of all software and hardware, provided the hardware is returned, and customer uninstalls XLEMR within 30 days of refund request. XLEMR reserves the right not to refund monies spent on consulting or customization. Customer retains the rights to all data created with XLEMR.