Registration Open for Hospitals and Physician Groups Ready to Attest to Meaningful Use

MALVERN, Pa., Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today represents a major step in the health information technology (IT) landscape. More than two years of policymaking have culminated in the opening of registration so hospitals and physician groups can begin the process of attesting to Stage 1 Meaningful Use as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. The Medicare EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, hospitals and critical access hospitals that demonstrate Meaningful Use of certified EHR technology.

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"Demonstrating Meaningful Use is an important milestone in the path to delivering truly exceptional patient care," said John Glaser, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Services Business Unit of Siemens Healthcare. "Siemens has made a significant investment in helping to prepare our customers for Meaningful Use, and we are extremely proud of not only our customers who are ready to attest in 2011, but also all those pioneering healthcare providers that will lead the way for others in this pivotal first year."

Achieving Stage 1 Meaningful Use involves demonstrating the capability to meet many complex criteria. One of the primary components is the use of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems for 30% of medication orders. CPOE is one of the most important processes in an inpatient setting and it can drive both the quality and efficiency of care. With a national focus on increasing the rapidity of clinical decision making, while reducing the potential for errors, CPOE systems can improve the ordering process for physicians and other clinicians. The hospitals and physician groups who will begin attesting to Meaningful Use represent those who are on the forefront of bringing this empowering technology to patients. According to third quarter 2010 statistics of the EMR Adoption Model (EMRAM) from HIMSS Analytics, only 17.8% of U.S. hospitals and health systems have adopted CPOE.(1)

"In the month of January, there will be a significant focus placed on the entities that are registering for the program and starting their EHR reporting period, but ultimately, all providers treating patients covered by Medicare will need to register," said Glaser. "It is important to note that this process is still new and, in many cases, it will be months before CMS determinations of actual Meaningful Users are revealed and facilities begin to see incentive payments. No matter what the outcome, we applaud those who are willing to publicly acknowledge their commitment to the betterment of patient care through their innovative use of health IT."

Siemens (NYSE: SI) offers a wide range of clinical and financial solutions across the entire health IT portfolio that can help enable customers to begin their process of achieving Meaningful Use. Recently, Siemens announced that it had received certification for three complete and six modular EHR solutions. More details about Siemens certified products are available at: http://usa.siemens.com/ARRA-HITECH.

(1) Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics. EMR Adoption Model; EMRAM Trended Summary Q3 2010. Available at: http://www.himssanalytics.org/hc_providers/emr_adoption.asp. Accessed on December 20, 2010.

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 2010 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 12.4 billion euros and profit of around 750 million euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.

SOURCE Siemens Healthcare