Meaningful Use: The Essentials for Medical Transcriptionists

The years 2012 and 2013 saw an increasing trend to implement electronic health records across the U.S. in response to government incentives and penalties. In order to qualify for the incentives and avoid the penalties, healthcare providers in hospitals, clinics, and private practice are required not only to purchase electronic health record systems but to also demonstrate that they are using these systems in a “meaningful” way. This webinar provides an in-depth introduction to the concepts and consequences of meaningful use and will discuss how these developments may impact the medical transcription workplace.

Visit the Online Learning Library to download this recorded webinar presentation (valid login required; available to AHDI Individual Professional members only).

AHDI Comments on Stage 3 Meaningful Use

A task force of volunteer subject matter experts has written AHDI's official comments on the draft recommendations for stage 3 definition of meaningful use in electronic health records. The National Leadership Board approved them for submission at their January 9 online meeting. Click here to download them.

The deadline to submit comments is Monday, January 14, 2013 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. We encourage all AHDI members to individually submit comments on this critically important issue that will shape the future of healthcare documentation in the EHR.

Important links for submitting your comments:

• Draft Stage 3 definition of meaningful use, HIT Policy Committee, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Department of Health and Human Services
• AHDI's official comments
• Regulations.gov website to submit comments, review the Federal Register notice, and public comments submitted

Advocacy Summit - Legislative Agenda

Come to the Hill and/or support our Summit objectives by preparing in advance. The following preliminary resources have been developed to assist you in understanding the AHDI/CDIA advocacy agenda and key messages for 2011.

AHDI/CDIA Advocacy Agenda
This comprehensive document identifies and outlines the 6 Key Areas where the associations have chosen to focus our advocacy efforts.

America’s Healthcare Story
This 2-page, full-color flyer will be the central marketing piece for our advocacy efforts in 2011 and will be included in all legislative packets to be taken to the Hill in May.

AHDI/CDIA Comment on Stage 2 Meaningful Use
Preserving a full patient health story in the EHR is priority one for both organizations, and securing a role for narrative reporting in the EHR is a big part of that. Key Summit messages will come from this formal comment to the HIT Policy Council.

Note: Full legislative packets, cover letters, flyers, and a full-fledged Advocacy Summit Guide will be available in the coming weeks.

Register for the 2011 Advocacy Summit

AHDI and MTIA Submit Comments for Ways and Means Committee Hearing

On Tuesday the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing on provisions within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for implementation of health information technology. AHDI and MTIA submitted comments and questions (“Efforts to Promote the Adoption and Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology") that reflect the necessity for health IT adoption to preserve narrative documentation of patient encounters and the human intelligence factor while maintaining secure, accurate, and efficient measures for capturing health information.

Meaningful Use Rules Rolled Out by HHS

At a press conference on July 13, 2010, the US Department of Health and Human Services and HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius introduced rules that define "meaningful use" of electronic health records. The rules lay the groundwork for a 5-year national initiative to promote the adoption of electronic health records in the United States, and are likely to have a major impact on how medical transcriptionists and MTSOs operate. For a summary of the rules and their implications for the healthcare documentation sector, visit the AHDI Lounge.

Join the Health Story Project for a Special Webinar

WHAT: The Health Story Project: Exchange Basic Records and Meet Early Meaningful Use Requirements

WHEN: Wednesday, July 21, 2010; 1:00-2:00 PM Central

AGENDA: Over a billion clinical notes are created by physicians in the U.S. each year. With standards, the output can easily integrate with EMRs/HIEs and provide a glide path to interoperability. The Health Story Project is an industry collaboration working to accelerate the development and adoption of standards for electronic clinical documents using HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) and Continuity of Care Document (CCD) templates. Learn how use of these standards support ARRA requirements for meaningful use for exchanging basic records - even prior to EMR system adoption. And, discover the benefits of the Health Story approach, including minimal disruption to workflow, physician acceptance, leveraging current technology investments and offering easy access to the right information. Can your system support this strategy? Learn how to get started.

PRESENTERS: Bob Dolin, MD, Chair, Health Level Seven and Principal, Semantically Yours, LLC and Liora Alschuler, Health Story Executive Committee Member and Principal, Alschuler Associates, LLC
Please let us know if you are interested in an update yet unable to make the webinar.

REGISTER: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/549972714

Webinar Highlight: Industry Trends: HIT Adoption and Medical Transcription

Date: July 7, 2010
Presenter: Jim Tate
Time: 10 AM PDT / 11 AM MDT / 12 PM CDT / 1 PM EDT
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: July 1, 2010
CE Given: 1 PD

A review of current HIT industry trends affecting MTSOs and the path forward into the age of EHR incentives, Meaningful Use, and HIT adoption.

Jim Tate brings a unique combination of skills to the eHealth field. His direct experience encompasses both clinical and technological environments. Jim is an experienced project manager in the implementation of both EHR and Practice Management systems and has led numerous implementations in the United States as well as China.

Register now!

PD CEC Webinar Open for Registration - MT as a Critical Role Player in Achieving Meaningful Use

Date: July 7, 2010
Presenter: Jim Tate
Time: 10 AM PDT / 11 AM MDT / 12 PM CDT / 1 PM EDT
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: July 1, 2010
CE Given: 1 PD



Real-world examples of how MT has supported the transition to EHRs and how MT can be instrumental in helping providers meet the meaningful use requirements necessary to become eligible for the ARRA incentive bonuses. The underlying concept is that MT is not merely a stop-gap measure for the near term, but can continue to be a vital part of the clinical documentation process.

Jim Tate brings a unique combination of skills to the eHealth field. His direct experience encompasses both clinical and technological environments. Jim is an experienced project manager in the implementation of both EHR and Practice Management systems and has led numerous implementations in the United States as well as China.

Register Now!

Mapping Hospital Readiness for Meaningful Use

The HIMSS Analytics Study now includes questions on hospital readiness for Meaningful Use, including use of structured templates developed by the Health Story Project

CHICAGO (June 1, 2010) – With hospitals expected to meet in 2011 the first phase of deadlines for Meaningful Use specified in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, HIMSS Analytics has added new questions to its annual Survey on Meaningful Use. The questions include those developed by the Health Story Project on the inclusion of structured document standards that must be in place so that narrative data converts to a structured format and can be imported in to the EMR. Read the full press release at Health Story Project.

Hot Topic Webinar Now Open for Registration - Using Natural Language Processing to Achieve Meaningful Use and Promote HIT Adoption

Date: June 10, 2010
Presenter: Kyle Silvestro
Time: 10 AM PDT / 11 AM MDT / 12 PM CDT / 1 PM EDT
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: June 7, 2010
Cost: $20 Members / $30 Nonmembers
CE Given: 1 TW


A review of current HIT industry trends affecting MTSOs and the path forward into the age of EHR incentives, "meaningful use," and HIT adoption. This will be followed by an introduction in NLP (Natural Language Processing), a leading-edge technology, and how it is currently being used to enable MTSOs to provide solutions to their clinets to address the "meaningful use" requirement and drive secondary data use.

Kyle Silvestro currently serves as the Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development for NLP International, a company that focuses on natural language processing for healthcare and life sciences. Kyle has been in the healthcare industry for the last 9 years. He gained his extensive background in Medical Informatics and Semantic Technologies, specifically Natural Language Processing, while at Language and Computing. As the VP of Sales and Business Development, Kyle worked with industry leaders in transcription, quality, revenue cycle management, interoperability, computer assisted coding, and electronic medical records, in the adoption of Natural Language Processing. Prior to Language and Computing, he was a partner in a management consulting firm that specialized in early to mid stage companies. During that time, he ran the North American Sales program for a clinical criteria vendor focused on patient quality, medical necessity and case management. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Chico where he currently resides.

Register now!

Advocacy Summit 2010: Not Too Late To Get Involved

With less than a week until Advocacy Summit 2010, the Dewey Square Group (DSG) is busily working to schedule as many meetings as possible with legislators. Two things to keep in mind–this is an election year with a lot at stake, so it is more likely we will be meeting with actual legislators, not staffers. However, on the flip side, health reform is looming prominently and may not be resolved by the time we are on the Hill, making for some heavy competition. Our messaging will be succinct, clear, and relevant to accelerating EHR adoption and the practical use of capturing and exchanging health information to improve patient safety and clinical care and to reduce costs. We will also be promoting the growth of environmentally friendly, digital, home-based jobs.

On Monday, March 15, AHDI and MTIA submitted an official comment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONCHIT) on the proposed regulations for “meaningful use” and EHR certification. In addition, over 75 AHDI and MTIA members submitted comments. These comments have helped set the stage for the messaging we will take to the Hill, calling for CMS and ONCHIT to explicitly recognize in the regulations that the dictation-transcription process is a viable method of data capture that can be used to achieve “meaningful use.” To read the official AHDI-MTIA comment, click here.

We are excited to announce that DSG has secured a room on Capitol Hill that we will be able to use for a briefing and orientation on the morning of Wednesday, March 24, before meeting with legislators. Members also will have access to the room throughout the entire day.

For anyone interested in attending the AHDI national board of directors meeting, it will take place on Tuesday, March 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Advocacy Summit 2010 host hotel, the Marriott Crystal City in the Potomac Ballroom, Salon F. The meeting room will have open gallery seating for approximately 20 people.

We encourage you to come to Advocacy Summit and to ask your colleagues to do the same, as this is a critical time for defining our value proposition. If you do come, we will be sure that your experience is meaningful and impactful. Click here to learn more about Advocacy Summit. If you have any questions concerning attending Advocacy Summit or anything else, please contact AHDI/MTIA staff member Greg Doggett (gdoggett@ahdionline.org, 859-512-3284).

Calling All Members: Submit Your Comments on "Meaningful Use" Today!

The federal government’s proposed regulations for "meaningful use" and EHR certification do not explicitly recognize the value of the dictation-transcription process for documenting healthcare encounters or the importance of patient narratives for clinical decision-making. Given these concerning omissions, we need as many AHDI and MTIA members as possible to submit comments asking the federal government to acknowledge the medical transcription sector as a vital contributor to quality of care, patient safety, and successful EHR adoption. Click here for instructions on how to support this important advocacy effort. (Note that this request is in addition to our letter writing campaign for Advocacy Summit already underway, so if at all possible, please help with both efforts.)

In Case You Missed It: Recording of Webinar on “Meaningful Use” Now Available

Last Thursday, over 60 AHDI and MTIA members joined a webinar presented by AHDI/MTIA CEO Peter Preziosi and Scott Shalett of the Dewey Square Group on the federal government’s proposed regulations for “meaningful use” and EHR certification, the regulations’ potential impact on the medical transcription sector, and the efforts being undertaken by our associations to position the sector for success in the rapidly changing health IT landscape, including the upcoming Advocacy Summit from March 23 to 25 in Washington, DC. If you missed this webinar, click here to listen to a recording. If you are interested in learning more about the Advocacy Summit or attending this important event, click here for more information, including details on registration and accommodations.

Webinar: The Consequences of "Meaningful Use" and EHR Certification for the Medical Transcription Sector

With great anticipation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services recently released proposed regulations on "meaningful use" and EHR certification. Physicians and healthcare enterprises would have to meet these regulations to qualify for billions of dollars in federal financial incentives for EHR adoption. The federal government’s efforts to spur EHR adoption have broad and sweeping consequences for medical transcription service owners and healthcare documentation professionals. During this webinar, Scott Shalett of the Dewey Square Group, the lobbying firm AHDI and MTIA have been working with since last June, and AHDI/MTIA CEO Peter Preziosi, PhD, CAE, will provide an overview of the consequences, what efforts are being made to position the medical transcription sector for success in the rapidly changing health IT landscape, and what you can do to support those efforts leading up to the 5th annual AHDI/MTIA Advocacy Summit from March 23 to 25 in Washington, DC. Please click here to register for this webinar.

Public Comment Period Open

The Meaningful Use NPRM and the Initial Set of Standards and Certification Criteria IFR have now been published and are available for public comment. Go to Healthcare IT News to download and read the PDF or HTML versions of these documents.

Industry Executives Speak out on "Meaningful Use"

On Monday, December 14, MTIA mailed a letter to National Coordinator for Health IT Dr. David Blumenthal on the need for regulators to recognize how the medical transcription sector can help make the federal government’s multi-billion dollar investment in EHRs a fruitful one for physicians, their healthcare teams, and patients. Forty-five industry executives signed the letter speaking to how consistent coding and formatting for all documents entered into the EHR can improve the quality, volume, and flow of information for clinical decision-making and how medical transcriptionists are needed to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of patient records, regardless of the technology used to capture health information. In addition, the letter called for "meaningful use" regulations to include the ability of EHRs to accept interfaced data from the dictation-transcription process, since it remains the most common method used by physicians to enter care encounter data into the patient record. To read the complete letter, click here.

ACE 2009—Nashville, Tennessee

If you weren’t able to attend AHDI’s 31st Annual Convention and Exposition in Nashville last week, you missed out on a powerful event packed with relevant educational sessions, dynamic keynote speakers, and valuable networking events. This year the dialogue and exchange around EHR adoption, "meaningful use," the Health Story Project, the need to preserve physician narrative in the future of health data capture, and the importance of promoting the role of the knowledge worker in quality assurance—all provided attendees and exhibitors with a critical opportunity to stay in the stream of important information. Here is just a peek at some of the key messages and events you missed:

• Event: Launch of the Power of 10 Campaign
• Message: Medical Transcription is a proven accelerator for EHR adoption and is a "shovel ready" solution to healthcare providers having trouble purchasing expensive EHR systems
• Message: The Dictation/Transcription process is a preferred method for physicians documenting the healthcare encounter
• Message: Medical transcription is a "green" job and this technology-enabled knowledge workforce is capable of assisting with the migration to greater EHR adoption
• Event: Dr. Jonathan Perlin, Chair of the HIT Standards Committee, in a meeting with members of the AHDI and MTIA Board of Directors, declaring value in the AHDI and MTIA promoting uniformly structured and coded narrative reports to better describe the healthcare encounter (Health Story Project)
• Event: AHDI leaders sharing successful best practices in promoting credentialing, education approval, alliance building, career fairs, and membership development.
• Message: AHDI’s work with the Dewey Square Group (DSG), a lobbying firm based in Washington, DC, has improved AHDI’s access to key government decision-makers and made the organization’s advocacy efforts more impactful. Since beginning its work with DSG, AHDI has been able to secure a meeting with the Senior Advisor to the National Coordinator for Health IT. In addition, the important Health IT Policy Committee recently cited dictation-transcription as a specific function that could be included in EHR certification criteria.
• Message: CCHIT, the approval body for EHR systems, does not require narrative dictation as an option for data entry. Discussion around this reality lead to agreement around promoting The Health Story Project as well as other specific actions to take through our advocacy efforts.

"Meaningful Use" Public Comment Deadline - June 26, 2009

Last February, President Obama signed into law the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which provides $17.2 billion to physicians and healthcare enterprises that qualify as "meaningful users" of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. This week, the HIT Policy Committee issued a draft definition of "meaningful use" and requested that members of the public submit comments concerning the definition. The committee’s request provides us with a tremendous opportunity to educate government decision-makers on the crucial role that medical transcriptionists play in clinical documentation by ensuring the accuracy and completeness of patient health records.

Please submit your comments to the HIT Policy Committee by sending an email to meaningfuluse@hhs.gov and placing "Meaningful Use" in the subject line. So that we are all sending a consistent, unified message on this subject, we strongly recommend that you incorporate some or all of the following points (in your own words) when you submit your comments to the Committee:

• EHR technology has the potential to improve quality of care, enhance patient safety, and reduce healthcare costs. However, successful adoption and implementation hinges upon the effective integration of technology and people, including physicians, other healthcare providers, and medical transcriptionists (MTs)/healthcare documentation professionals who work alongside physicians to ensure that patient records are accurate and complete.

• While these technologies have improved documentation, an "extra set of knowledgeable and skilled eyes" is still needed to ensure the accuracy and completeness of patient health records. To free up clinicians to focus on patient care, not data entry, in the new age of EHRs, healthcare documentation specialists will capture and correct errors that otherwise would become permanent and be perpetuated in a patient’s health record, potentially creating misinterpretation by other care providers and compromised care of the patient.

• Dictation has historically been and continues to be the documentation method of choice for physicians because it produces a complex, specific narrative that ensures accurate capture of patient history, as well as the care encounter. By allowing for uniformly formatted and coded narrative reports, EHR technologies will enable this vital piece of the patient health record to be shared across providers and enterprises.

• Incorporating dictation-transcription and uniformly formatted and coded narrative reports into the certification process for EHR technologies and the definition of "meaningful use" is a simple, yet proven and highly effective, way to ensure that improved health information capture supports and improves the quality of patient care delivery. It also will add no cost to the system and will likely save money using more cost effective healthcare documentation specialists to capture data rather than expensive clinicians.

Guidelines to consider when submitting your comments to the HIT Policy Committee:
1. Submit your comments no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 26, 2009.

2. Add to the strength of your comments — if you are an MT, include a personal story or two detailing errors that you have captured and corrected, making sure you do not include PHI-sensitive references in your examples.

3. To help with this important effort, please encourage others within our industry and the doctors for whom you provide documentation services to submit supportive comments to the Committee. It would be very powerful for the HIT Policy Committee to hear from doctors who want certified EHR systems to include a dictation-transcription option and to allow for uniformly formatted and coded narrative reports.

4. When you submit your comments, please send a copy to staff member Greg Doggett at gdoggett@ahdionline.org. He will make sure your Congressional District’s Representative and your state’s two Senators receive a copy of your comments. (Be sure to provide Greg with your mailing address for the purpose of identifying your Representative.) It is critical that as many as decision-makers as possible hear our message.

If you have any questions, please contact Greg at gdoggett@ahdionline.org or 703-663-8379. Thank you in advance for taking time out of your busy schedules to aid this important effort.

Health Story Project and "Meaningful Use" Definitions

The Health Story Project is an alliance of healthcare vendors, providers and associations that share a vision that all of the clinical information required for good patient care, administration, reporting and research will be readily available electronically—providing patients with a comprehensive electronic clinical record, or complete health story.

The greatest single waste of current health information technology (HIT) resources is the failure to leverage information that is already electronic; this occurs approximately 600,000,000 times each year in the U.S. when dictated notes are printed and the electronic source is not available for exchange and reuse. With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) there is an opportunity to accelerate transformation of dictation from paper to electronic data and to address this significant gap.

Meaningful use of the Certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) must encompass dictation for creation and exchange of standards-based clinical documentation. This comprehensive view of the EHR supports the immediate needs of front-line physicians and patients, is complementary with structured data, and lays the ground work for increasing EHR adoption and information reuse.

Stakeholder Communities Addressed in this Testimony
• Physicians: the overwhelming majority use dictation
• Vendors: Medical Records and Document Management, Coding, Dictation, Speech Recognition, Natural Language Processing & EHR
• Transcription/Coding Service Providers: includes over 200,000 U.S.-based knowledge workers
• Patients: want and deserve access to their complete record, including physician narrative and structured data entry