Meaningful Use First Draft Could Guide Final Definition

Teich says the meaningful use first draft also sends a clear message that the purpose of healthcare IT should be "to improve quality, safety, efficiency, access, and coordination of care."

"It's not how much technology you have. It's what it's doing for the benefit of healthcare in the country," he says. "There is clearly a progression from the technology I have to the performance I can do to the outcomes I can achieve. We are going to be moving from just technology, not quite for its own sake, but as something you implement, to technology as something that is a very big arrow in the quiver of improving outcomes. As we see refinements of the 2013 and 2015 objectives, I expect to see a lot more focus on moving into performance and outcomes."

Blumenthal says anxious providers will have ample opportunity to relay their concerns about the viability and cost of EHR. "There will be a long period of public input, which I'm sure will include a lot of input from the profession," he says. "We have a number of providers on our health IT policy committee and others who speak with a provider perspective."

"I don't want to put words in the mouths of the nation's providers, but I anticipate we will be hearing from them about concerns in a number of areas: how fast they can adopt electronic health records; whether they can meet our criteria for certified use, and how the federal government will certify those records," Blumenthal says. "These are all areas that we are carefully considering and we look forward to getting providers input in all these areas."

CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will take the recommendations of the advisory committee and develop a proposed rule that provides greater details on the incentive program and a firmer definition of meaningful use. The proposed rule is expected to be issued late in 2009, and will be followed by a 60-day public comment period.

A public comment period on today's recommendations will be open through the close of business on Friday, June 26, 2009. The committee has instructions on how to submit public comment and materials from Tuesday's meeting online.