The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed by President Obama on February 17, 2009, includes $19.2 billion in provisions for healthcare information technology (HCIT). As part of this program, there are incentives through Medicare and Medicaid for the “Meaningful Use” of Certified EHR Technology.
So just what does “meaningful use” mean for hospitals? Medicare defines it so far as “using certified EHR technology and, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of HHS, demonstrating that the certified EHR technology is connected in a manner that provides for the e-exchange of health information to improve the quality of health care, such as care coordination; and, the hospital submits information, in a manner and form specified by the Secretary, on such clinical quality measures and such other measures as selected by the Secretary.”
Assuring appropriate use of ARRA funds will be a key priority for many hospitals. To that end, utilizing a scorecard methodology and product can provide the necessary tools to track, monitor, manage, and document the meaningful use of ARRA projects and programs. The Secretary of HHS will determine the measures that will be required and these measures will need to be tracked over time and submitted as “proof” for quality of care improvement requirements for incentive payments.
An effective scorecard should provide the following capabilities for hospitals and healthcare systems:
- One centralized repository of key cost, schedule, outcome, and status measures for each project with intuitive scorecard and stoplight views -- this provides healthcare clients with unprecedented capabilities to document meaningful use of ARRA funds.
- Accountability at the project/program level -- each project has an accountable person responsible for monitoring and reporting project/program progress and status. This ensures that there is personal accountability for individual projects/programs.
- Built-in audit trail -- ongoing status reports and project/program measures are maintained so it is clear what accountable parties were reporting and what issues were raised over the life of the project/program. This helps avoid unnecessary delays and removes numerous barriers.
- Tracking of leading and lagging outcome measures -- the tools and the approach enable the definition of outcome measures for each project or program and track the outcomes over the life of the project. If outcomes are not reaching the targeted goal, corrective action can be taken early in the life of the project or program. This helps ensure that the ARRA funds deliver the outcomes expected.
Hospitals will need a strong closed-loop management process to assure that ARRA funds are tracked accurately and appropriately with the right amount of transparency. Furthermore, the accountability and review process that scorecards can provide will help to diminish the chances of unwanted project and initiative delays and helps to drive a hospital’s ability to provide the outcomes envisioned by the Federal Government.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has some great resources and summaries on their website regarding the ARRA and its impact on HCIT. The first link provides an overview, while the second link has valuable FAQs.
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