Blumenthal: HHS Plans To Release Guidance on Meaningful Use Soon

National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal said on Friday that the Department of Health and Human Services soon will issue guidance and specifications on the definition of "meaningful use" of health IT. The recently enacted economic stimulus law included $17 billion for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments to health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of health IT, such as electronic health records. "Those two words [meaningful use] are the key to success in health information technology policy over the next several years," Blumenthal said.