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Beginning to think about implementing a meaningful use project at your medical practice can stress an office manager out quicker than almost anything these days. The questions that crop up first are “how do I start” and “where do I start”. That is what makes it so overwhelming. Here are the processes most practices follow when beginning to implement a meaningful use policy. Adopt A Certified Electronic Health Record System, The logic behind all the meaningful use is to develop and implement an electronic health record system within your practice. Be sure to choose a system that is certified for meaningful use. There are many systems out there now that have multiple years of experience and technological programming to capture the data you need to report easily and efficiently. Narrow your list to at least three systems and choose the one that best suits your needs and desires.

Develop A Meaningful Use Process Specifically For Your Practice, In order to implement a change of this magnitude in your practice, you, practice manager, must understand the qualifications and requirements of meaningful use and relay them to your staff appropriately. For example, one of the requirements is to collect race/ethnicity for patients. There are many practices that are not currently collecting this data in their demographic registration paperwork. You can edit your paperwork or process of collecting data to capture all the required elements. Your understanding of the core competencies will help you to lay out a foundational process for not only capturing, but recording the required data in your system.

Tracking Data For Attestation, Again, the requirements of meaningful use are steering all practices toward an electronic process. For 2011, practices can attest through the appropriate websites. Beginning in 2012, you will be attesting through your electronic health system reporting. Some EHR systems have great reporting tools to display data that is meeting, and most importantly, not meeting your intended meaningful use goals. Develop a process of checking the data on a regular basis in keeping up with elements that are required. Proactively checking data and filling in data elements that are missing for reporting is the best way to keep up with the attestation requirements. You do not want to let this go unviewed for any length of time and then be in a place to go back and correct multiple holes in your data that was missed or not recorded for some reason.

When setting up your electronic health record system, be sure to ask if there are any elements of data collection within that system that can be set as required so that it makes it easier on staff and clinicians to remember to collect the data. It may be annoying at first, but reporting the data is the priority. Change Can Be Painful, This is a time of change and it can be quite painful. So many times we see things from one perspective only. A mentor of mine says “pain is a course corrector” and it is so applicable here except that some may feel it is the reverse right now. Your attitude as a practice manager will hold a great bearing on how well you implement a meaningful use process in your office. Most practice managers are buckling down with the attitude of “this must be done” and that is what is required by everyone in the practice in order to accomplish a change of process such as this.

The best advice for you at this time is to: Ask for the help you need from vendors, providers, staff, and even outside consultants. Acquaint yourself in groups and organizations that can support your efforts. Immerse and education yourself in the rules of meaningful use as much as possible. There are practices providing and reporting on meaningful use requirements now all over the country, so there is proof that it is being done. Just by reading this article you are starting your process. Now, chart your course for success.