Online Meaningful Use Resources

Information about the EHR Incentive Program is widely available on the internet. The websites below contain highly valuable health IT resources, news, opinion and regulatory information.

• The Center for Medicare and Medicaid - EHR Incentive Program
• Main site and primary resource available to learn about the programs.  A very useful feature of the website is the Frequently Asked Questions database.

• ONC Health IT - Meaningful Use Resources
• Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. Links to studies and press releases, all current and relevant, about meaningful use and EHR topics.  Valuable sections include : Talking to Your Patients about EHRs and the Benefits of EHRs.

• HIMSS Meaningful Use
• Links to hundreds of documents, tools and other websites all discussing the EHR incentive program and meaningful use. A complete visit to the site will answer all your questions about meaningful use criteria, how to receive the incentive money and the best practices for implementing processes and achieving meaningful use in your office. We particularly like the Emerging Technologies section, which has articles about future trends in health IT.

• Life as a Healthcare CIO
• A popular blog written by hospital CIO John Halamka, MD. With approximately 240-250 posts per year, this blog is a must read. The topics are mostly pertinent to healthcare and HIT, but often include macro themes about health IT infrastructure and government policy. Additionally, he writes about insights from his personal life and includes a weekly post of his favorite new technology.

• Kevin MD
• Physician Kevin Pho runs this popular blog with the tagline "Social Media's Leading Physician Voice". It is updated multiple times a day and features articles and commentary written by a wide range of healthcare experts. Sometimes the debate raging in the comments of the article is another great source of information. Less Health IT, but still a great read.

• Twitter
•  The vibrant social media network is the place to search for popular topics in healthcare and health IT. Simply search any keyword and instantly find relevant recent tweets from people in the industry. Popular healthcare keywords include "Health IT,  EHR, EMR, HIE,  Meaningful Use, HIT, CCHIT, HIMSS, ONC"
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