Feds delay release of EHR ‘meaningful use’ definition

David Blumenthal, the Obama Administration’s point man on health information technology, has asked the federal Health IT Policy Committee’s meaningful use working group to amend recommendations on what defines “meaningful use,” a definition critical to determining who will receive a share of $19 billion in federal EHR money (Source: “First draft of EHR ‘meaningful use’ definition unveiled,” American Medical News, June 29, 2009).

"We had a lively discussion, and it was decided after considerable input on the topic of meaningful use that we would take it back to discussion to work on it a little bit longer," Dr. Blumenthal said. He said the committee expects to unveil revised recommendations by July 16, the date of its next scheduled meeting. The definition was originally expected to be released by late June.

In other health information technology news, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is requestion information from small- and medium-sized practices on tools for analyzing and redesigning workflow before and after HIT implementation (Source: “AHRQ Seeks I.T. Workflow Options,” Health Data Management, June 25, 2009).

According to a notice (pdf, 3 pages) published in the Federal Registry, responses to questions will be incorporated into a toolkit used to assist small- and medium-sized practices in analyzing or redesigning workflow, either before or after health IT implementation. Comments should be submitted on or before August 24. Electronic responses should be addressed to WorkflowRFI@ahrq.hhs.gov.