Blumenthal: Meaningful use must stretch - not break - providers

Dr. David Blumenthal, the national health IT coordinator, said that he wants to "stretch" the healthcare community but not "break" it in setting the conditions under which providers can qualify for financial incentives to use health IT.

That's how he described how his office will determine how high to set the bar for physicians and hospitals to become "meaningful users" of electronic health records. Blumenthal spoke at a joint presentation of the Health IT Government Leaders, Health Information Ex change and HIPAA summits Feb. 4. The proposed rule uses an escalator concept, which guides providers toward increasingly sophisticated uses of EHRs with the help of financial incentives and support from health IT technical training centers and state health information exchanges. The administration wants to encourage the participation of physicians and hospitals in the program and prevent their dropping out once they've started, Blumenthal said.