MEANINGFUL USE 2 and PHR- II

Health care givers who use these systems therefore enjoy the added advantage of the inclusion of the PHR. This makes is easy for them to fulfil the meaningful use requirements. The health care givers who do not however use the above mentioned EMR system solutions need not worry. There are several PHR solutions that are offered online and for free. Most of these solutions have the interoperability feature which most EMR system solutions lack. For instance, Epic Lucy PHR which does not rely on the Epic platform in order to run and can be accessed online. Another example is the Microsoft HealthVault which can be used to access health information even in the absence of an EMR system.

Health care givers have no excuse therefore when it comes to implementing the meaningful use requirement of giving patients access to their health records upon request. There are however some obstacles with the PHR; in the section where patients can enter their own data into a free-standing personal health record. In theory, patients can add data into their PHR systems and dispatch it their physicians through a secure messaging function. In reality, patients do not use the PHR since they do not understand what it’s for. Most of them expect the doctors to keep track of their care for them

All in all, it is important to note that the health care sector is undergoing a huge change in how health records are created and stored all around the world. Younger physicians have taken to smartphones and iPads simply because they grew up with the Internet.  Most physicians and hospitals however, will change only because the regulations in the HITECH Act, which was part of ARRA and not “the Affordable Care Act”, which dictate that digital changeover is mandatory by the end of 2014. Patients on the other hand have been slow to adopt PHRs due to a lack of incentives. With just   over 10 per cent of the population maintaining a PHR, that is, using a computer or Web site to maintain a personal health history. These records could be anything ranging from a spread sheet to a full-bore electronic record.

At the same time, portals also figure in meaningful use payouts. There are some 140 physicians strong, Worchester, Mass.-based Reliant Medical Group (formerly the Fallon Clinic), who have received nearly $2 million in incentive payments. As part of meaningful use, they gave patients access to their records, their test results and further allowed them to get electronic copies. They use Reliant's portal, which is part of its Epic EHR, patients are able to download a Continuity of Care Document (CCD) which summarizes the key clinical measures. This is how the Reliant has been able to meet that meaningful use requirement. Patients can see their data from the ambulatory setting At UPMC and inpatient alike, notes Martich, the CMIO. Its ambulatory system houses its portal, but any inpatient discharge summaries, ED reports, and operative reports are conveyed to the patient's individual HealthTrak account.

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