Meaningful Use and the EHR

EHR vendors who design clinical decision support technology now have a new standard established by the Department of Health and Human Services to define meaningful use of EHR technology.  Two regulations have been released, one of which defines the "meaningful use" objectives that providers must meet to qualify for the bonus payments, and the other which identifies the technical capabilities required for certified EHR technology.  Examples of meaningful use of EHR certification standards include:

• Provide a standardized drug nomenclature for clinical drugs compatible with RxNorm
• Provide drug - drug and drug - allergy contraindications based on medication list, medication allergy list and computerized provider order entry
• Provide clinicians with the ability to adjust notifications provided for drug - drug and drug - allergy interaction checks
• Enable the user to electronically check if drugs are in a formulary or preferred drug list
• Enable the user to electronically compare two or more medication lists to eliminate duplicate therapy
• Implement automated, electronic clinical decision support rules and notifications based on the data elements included in: medication list, problem list, demographics and laboratory test results