We now have our first look at the official shape “meaningful use” of electronic health record (EHR) technology will likely take – in the near future, at least. As many had anticipated, one of the principal underlying themes is interoperability.

The long-anticipated proposed rule defining meaningful use finally was released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Dec. 30. On the same day, we also received the interim final rule setting initial EHR technology standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). You can view draft copies of both rules at www.federalregister.gov/inspection.aspx.

As it turns out, CMS will define meaningful use objectives in three distinct stages. Providers who meet the criteria in each of the three stages may be eligible for thousands of dollars in incentive bonuses through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In this proposal, however, CMS has only defined the requirements for Stage 1, which focuses on:

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