Achieving Meaningful Use

"How Can a Medical Facility Achieve Meaningful Use?"

One of the meaningful use criteria uses the phrase "electronically record" in reference to taking a patient’s vital signs. This means that whatever device is measuring a particular vital sign must be doing so electronically, not manually. The criteria also requires that the vital signs are electronically retrieved, which means that when the vital sign is measured it must also be electronically transmitted into the patient’s EMR. Only a truly "connected" medical device can do these things and help the practitioner become EMR compliant in regard to this meaningful use criterion.

 Understanding Connectivity Capabilities of Your Medical Devices

Healthcare professionals must understand the connectivity capabilities of their medical devices in order to become EMR compliant. Unfortunately there are no standards for connectivity solutions and manufacturers can tout their products as "EMR Ready" or "EMR Compliant", regardless of the multitude of channels or software that it may require to interface with an EMR system. To help their hospital or practice meet meaningful use criteria, the practitioner should begin working with their EMR vendor to determine if their software is able to interface with any of their existing medical devices. They will then be able to determine if they will need to purchase new devices with connectivity capabilities.

For example, if a doctor’s office only has manual blood pressure cuffs they will have to manually enter the reading into the patient’s medical record. However, the HITECH Act mandates that by 2014 that vital sign measurement must be electronically measured and input into an EMR. Consequently, the doctor will have to purchase an electronic blood pressure cuff that not only electronically takes the blood pressure reading, but it must also be able to take that data and transmit it into the patient’s EMR – they need a connected diagnostic device. A medical device that has connectivity capabilities will be able to communicate and transmit data into an EMR system via the device itself, an external adapter or software application. These connectivity solutions are what enable the devices to transfer patient data into the EMR and will help the practitioner meet the meaningful use requirements to become EMR compliant.

The Next Steps to Becoming EMR Compliant

To become an EMR compliant medical facility, healthcare professionals will have to closely examine the meaningful use criteria and determine what they need to change to meet the new rules. This includes looking at their workflow procedures and verifying which of their medical devices have connectivity capabilities. Those devices that have connectivity must be interfaced with the EMR system so that measured data can be electronically transmitted. If a device does not have any options to connect to the EMR system a new, connected device will have to be purchased and put into the workflow.

There are many benefits of using connected devices, beyond EMR compliance. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post to cover these points. In the meantime, we would love to hear about what other topics you would like us to explore or investigate. Please leave a comment below and we look forward to fostering meaningful conversations about our industry and hearing what you have to say.