Health IT, Policy

Physician groups ask Congress to fix Meaningful Use

The letters, signed by 111 groups, rapped the Obama administration for sticking to what the signatories called "fundamental flaws" in Meaningful Use regulations that they believe are more about documentation than promoting interoperability of electronic health records.

Frustrated with what they called “widespread failure” of Meaningful Use Stage 2 and unhappy with the newly released Stage 3 regulations, more than 100 national and state medical societies and physician organizations are turning to Congress for help.

“Congressional action to refocus this program is urgently needed before physicians, frustrated by the near impossibility of compliance with meaningless and ill-informed bureaucratic requirements, abandon the program completely,” the 111 groups wrote in a pair of letters send to House and Senate leaders. The American Medical Association led the effort, which included all state medical societies except South Carolina’s, as well as dozens of specialty societies.

The letters rapped the Obama administration for sticking to what the signatories called “fundamental flaws” in Stage 2 that they believe are more about documentation than promoting interoperability of electronic health records.

“Relying so heavily on the failed construct of Stage 2 will only guarantee continued failure in Stage 3,” they wrote. “We believe that the success of the program hinges on a laser-like focus on promoting interoperability and allowing innovation to flourish as vendors respond to the demands of physicians and hospitals rather than the current system where vendors must meet the ill-informed check-the-box requirements of the current program.”

Click here to read the letter send to House leadership. Click here for the Senate letter.

Photo: Flickr user ttarasiuk

Shares0
Shares0