Final rulemaking issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services includes EHR “meaningful use” definitions associated with physician eligibility for ARRA incentives. Eligible physicians (EPs) will be expected to incorporate patient-centered electronic solutions in order to qualify for stimulus funds.

Final core set requirements include:

• Provide patients with clinical summaries for each office visit. Clinical summaries must be provided to patients for more than 50 percent of all office visits within three business days.
• On request, provide patients with an electronic copy of their health information (including diagnostic test results, problem list, medication lists, medication allergies). More than 50 percent of requesting patients must receive an electronic copy within three business days.

Final menu set requirements include:

• Use EHR technology to identify patient-specific education resources and provide those to the patient as appropriate. More than 10 percent of patients should be provided patient-specific education resources.
• Send reminders to patients (per patient preference) for preventive and follow-up care. More than 20 percent of patients 65 years of age or older or 5 years of age or younger should be sent appropriate reminders.
• Provide patients with timely electronic access to their health information (including laboratory results, problem list, medication lists, medication allergies). More than 10 percent of patients should be provided electronic access to information within 4 business days of its being updated in the EHR.

To help you qualify for ARRA incentives, NoMoreClipboard offers NMC-MD – a patient portal that combines personal health record functionality with an administrative portal that enables your practice to receive and reply to patient-generated messages.

With NMC-MD, your practice can quickly and affordably create a branded patient portal. Patients can visit your website, click on a patient registration button and link to a NoMoreClipboard portal that looks and feels just like your existing site – the patient experience is seamless. From the portal, patients can create a personal health record account, share demographic and clinical information, and send and receive secure messages – including the reminders, electronic copies of health information and clinical summaries required to achieve meaningful use. NMC-MD can be integrated with practice EHR systems using standard interoperability protocols, streamlining the flow of electronic information between you and your patients.