Providers afforded flexibility and choice in pursuing their adoption of heath information technology

MALVERN, Pa., July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Siemens Healthcare announced that the newly-released Final Rule on 'Meaningful Use' of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) provides an important boost to its ongoing campaign to help healthcare providers realize quality and efficiency gains through the use of health information technology. The guidelines outline specific criteria hospitals and eligible providers must meet through use of their EHR in order to qualify for incentive payments as stated in the HITECH provision of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) , as well as the requirements against which EHRs will be officially certified.

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"We're encouraged that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) have completed these important regulations, providing our customers needed framework as to what constitutes a meaningful user of an Electronic Health Record and a certified EHR system, and also providing an important catalyst to spur further health IT adoption across the U.S. healthcare system," said Charlene Underwood, Director, Government and Industry Affairs, Siemens Healthcare. "The depth and breadth of our innovative medical information technology portfolio, coupled with our strong leadership position in the industry, enabled us to ensure our customers' voices were heard and that a manageable set of guidelines were delivered in the creation of these rules."

To make certain healthcare providers are given access to expert content and thought leadership on the latest developments in ongoing healthcare reform initiatives -- including new milestones in the federal government's push to increase U.S. health IT usage -- Siemens is currently hosting its second Virtual Healthcare IT Speaker Series of the year: Navigating Healthcare in the 21st Century. Streaming LIVE to attendees' desktops, this exclusive, free speaker series, accessed at www.siemens.com/virtual-navigatingHC, delivers updates on hot-button national health reform issues and offers the opportunity to engage directly with expert speakers. Partners Healthcare VP, CIO and incoming Siemens Healthcare Health IT CEO, John Glaser, will present his keynote address, "Accountable Care Organizations and Payment Reform: Implications for Health Information Technology", on August 2, at 1:00 p.m. (ET).

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source -- from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 48,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2009 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 11.9 billion euros and profit of around 1.5 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.

SOURCE Siemens Healthcare

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