Measuring quality
The Health and Human Services Department’s proposed regulation for electronic health records contains 29 quality-oriented measures that eligible doctors and hospitals must implement to qualify for a portion of the $17 billion in incentive payments included in the economic stimulus law.
Eligible medical providers must:
- Record 80 percent of patient orders in computerized form.
- Maintain up-to-date electronic problem lists, medication lists and allergy lists for 80 percent of patients.
- Transmit 75 percent of prescriptions electronically.
- Record blood pressure and body mass index for 80 percent of patients.
- Record whether a patient smokes.
- Group patients by specific condition.
- Send reminders about preventive and follow-up care to at least 50 percent of patients older than 50.
- Implement at least five decision-support rules.
- Provide an electronic copy of medical records to at least 80 percent of patients who request it within 48 hours.
- Provide at least 10 percent of patients with timely electronic access to their health information.
- Provide at least 80 percent of patients with clinical summaries of their office visits.
- Demonstrate a capability to exchange health data electronically.
- Reconcile medications for 80 percent of referred patients.
- Perform at least one test in which immunization information is sent to a registry electronically.
- Perform at least one test to send disease surveillance information to public health agencies electronically.
- Perform risk analysis on patient records for the purpose of protecting security and privacy.