Under ARRA, hospitals and health care professionals are required to become meaningful users of certified EHR technology to do what?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not defined
• D. Not sure

Answer: (A)

Under ARRA, the push was to move health care from simply digitizing records to using electronic health records in a way that actually improves patient care. This introduced the concept of “meaningful use,” which means using certified EHR technology to achieve concrete health outcomes—such as improving quality and safety, supporting care coordination, enabling electronic prescribing, and securely exchanging information for better patient care. The goal of tying these requirements to incentives is to ensure that funding rewards providers for real improvements, not just adopting technology. Therefore, hospitals and health care professionals are required to become meaningful users of certified EHR technology in order to qualify for the incentive payments.