Foothold helps to Smooth the Road to Meaningful Use Dollars

Foothold Technology recently had the unique opportunity to present to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Community of Practice, an online community of doctors, nurses, and providers that connect to exchange innovative patient safety best practices and serves as a repository of resources, ideas, and tools. The purpose of this presentation was to discuss the environment Behavioral Healthcare providers encounter when participating in the Meaningful Use incentive program, an initiative put forth under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in order to get hospitals and individual primary care providers to use electronic health records and complete objectives designed to improve patient care. Funds are distributed to Eligible Providers (EPs) who are making Meaningful Use out of their certified EHRs. Although Foothold’s EHR, AWARDS, is 2014 Edition compliant and has been certified by an ONC-ACD in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, our clients, behavioral healthcare agencies, still face significant impediments when trying to gain Meaningful Use dollars.

Behavioral Healthcare focused agencies and EHR vendors are acutely aware of the challenges their Eligible Providers face when they attest for Meaningful Use dollars, which is one reason Foothold was especially pleased to be able to speak to the CMS team supporting them. Our presentation reviewed these challenges but also highlighted some of the inventive manners in which agencies have been able to successfully implement and attest. We encourage you to review the slides from the presentation, as they provide insight into the adaptation required by vendors and agencies to fit into the modern healthcare landscape.