Vermont primary care providers "meaningfully" using their electronic health records

The United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT recently announced that more than 50 percent of healthcare professionals nationally are using electronic health records ‘meaningfully’in their offices.
According to Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL), in Vermont, 45.2 percent of primary care providers have attained meaningful use of their electronic health record systems. VITL anticipates reaching 50 percent meaningful use in Vermont by the end of the organization’s fiscal year on June 30th. Department of health officials noted that in 2008 only 17 percent of physicians nationally were even using electronic health records.
‘We have come a long way in the last three years in getting more and more primary care providers in Vermont to achieve meaningful use,’said John K. Evans, president and CEO of VITL. ‘I am confident that our meaningful use numbers will increase significantly based on the fact that 94 percent of primary care providers in Vermont have adopted and are currently using electronic medical records in their practices.’
VITL has been designated as the sole regional extension center for Vermont by The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The extension centers were created by the department of health to assist providers in selecting and implementing electronic health record systems in their offices. VITL provides free services for providers, including workflow analysis; technology assessment; EHR vendor selection; project management; implementing privacy policies consistent with HIPAA; security risk assessment; and, achieving meaningful use of the EHRs among others.
‘Our goal is to be a resource to every provider in the state to help them achieve meaningful use,’Evans said. ‘Better use of EHRs leads to more coordinated care, especially at the point of care and fewer medical errors. The bottom line is that shifting from paper to electronic medical records allows data to be exchanged between providers more quickly and safely.’
According to VITL, meaningful use occurs when eligible practitioners use a certified EHR in a meaningful manner, and that the use of technology is for the electronic exchange of health information, including submitting clinical data and other measures to improve health care quality through the state’s health information network.