4 Actions to Achieve Meaningful Use While Preparing for Value-Based Care

In order to quality for payment incentives from CMS, hospitals and healthcare organizations need to plan ahead with short- and long-term actions, according to the "Preparing for Meaningful Healthcare Change: Meeting Stage 2 Meaningful Use Requirements" report by Stoltenberg Consulting, a healthcare information technology consulting firm. As hospitals turn their attention to patient engagement and care quality and coordination, Stoltenberg advises hospitals to move rapidly and efficiently to meet meaningful use requirements. According to the report, the following four actions will give hospitals a good foundation for meeting meaningful use while achieving the required results dictated by trends and regulations in accountable, value-based care and population health management.

• Develop a patient portal to ensure that patients can access their health information and discharge instructions electronically.
• Offer an electronic health record that provides patients with direct access to their information.
• Build programs and technologies that allow physicians to communicate with healthcare colleagues across the continuum of care as well as with patients and family members.
• Create mechanisms to exchange patient information at key transitions in care to identify and prevent gaps in care.

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