The main aim of Meaningful Use Stage 3 is to enhance interoperability options of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software systems used by hospitals and healthcare organizations. MU3 ready EHR software systems support better communication between providers at different points of care which helps in improved decision making and ultimately improving patient outcome levels. The Meaningful Use verification from software vendors is also used to avoid any fines to Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.
The new MU3 rule aims to offer the following for the healthcare sector,
- Promote greater interoperability option in your EHR software system
- Streamline meaningful use reporting periods
- Improved healthcare analytics to support the patient care process
With the new rule, physicians can expect coordinated care and also make the transmission of patient data simpler and easy. By collaborating with providers at every stage, patients can receive enhanced care which is truly the ultimate goal of healthcare and doctors.
How will the stage 3 Meaningful Use rule affect your medical practice?
The new stage 3 Meaningful Use rule was proposed to counter the many condemnations which came from the rules of Stages 1 and 2. We can expect some positive impact on your hospital system.
- Enhanced care coordination – If you are receiving a patient through referral or transfer then the MU3 rule requires the provider to incorporate a patient summary of care document into the Electronic Health Records (EHR) software system. The rule also makes it compulsory to make a complete check of all allergy notes and also create an up-to-date medical problem list, this will make way for medical reconciliation altogether improving care coordination.
- Interoperability requirements – The MU3 rules require your practice to expand e-Prescribing (e-Rx) usage, including controlled substances and health data exchange with other clinicians and the free access of patients to their health records and the information which was shared between providers. To make sure that all these interoperability requirements are fulfilled, practices need to select an EMR software vendor that is flexible and promotes interoperability between different software systems. Selecting the right software vendor is critical to augment interoperability which is the core prerequisite for the MU3 rule. Our software experts have suggested some of the best EMR software vendors that offer interoperability options, ease of use and are attested for the Stage 3 Meaningful Use rule to make your practice grow. They include athenahealth EMR Software, AdvancedMD EHR Software, and drchrono EHR Software.
- Eventually, your patient will benefit – With EMR software products being interoperable, patients who visit their specialists can easily exchange patient care notes with their primary healthcare provider which can directly enhance healthcare outcomes.
The Bottom Line
The MU3 rule makes software vendors offer greater interoperability options for their users. The free-flowing exchange of health information is necessary to offer the best level of care. All vendors would now be challenged to make their software products better in terms of transparency and performance to promote interoperability between different EHR software solutions used by hospital systems.
