Meeting Meaningful Use Criteria and Managing Patient Populations: A National Survey of Practicing Physicians.

More than 40 percent of the nation’s physicians have access to a basic electronic health record (EHR) system; however, implementation of advanced functions for patient management and care coordination is not widespread, according to a study led by Mathematica and the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital. Furthermore, when these tools are available, physicians report they are complicated and difficult to use. Many EHR functions, such as electronic data exchange, will be required for physicians to meet the meaningful use criteria of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for EHRs. CMS established these criteria to ensure that physicians use EHRs to improve patient care; physicians participating in the meaningful use program receive financial incentives when they meet the criteria.