ARRA symbolHealth care leaders and policy makers should be commended for making several smart moves in this week’s delivery of the final rule for the meaningful use (MU) criteria, but one of the most critical is the committee’s decision to include the emergency department (ED) as a viable place of service.

For the past several months, several of my colleagues and I have been part of the ongoing effort, working directly with legislators and other industry leaders to ensure that the ED “gets its due” in the MU final rule. One of the most cost and care intensive areas of every health system, but neglected in the initial rounds of MU criteria, the ED is where the flow of patient care most often begins and consistently feeds patients throughout the rest of the hospital – and I’m thrilled that policy makers have now shown that they agree.

One of the most important distinctions for the ED – and one of the biggest hurdles for hospitals – is that they are now therefore eligible for inclusion in Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) for medication orders entered by any licensed healthcare professional. As most CIOs, IT staff and clinicians know, CPOE implementation for many is unfortunately a complex, costly and time-consuming process that takes two to three years. Hospitals looking to make the 30 percent threshold within the timeframe of the MU requirements will need to rely on systems that enable a speedier and smooth CPOE implementation.

The integration of Healthcare Information Exchanges (HIEs) in the ED is also another personal favorite of mine that’s cemented in the final rule. Improving the flow of communication across health care providers and caretakers is maybe even more critical in the ED as it’s the starting point of care for the majority of patients that flow into and through the hospital each day. I’m happy to have worked closely with many hospitals to put them ahead of the game in this area, enabling a range of HIE success stories in the ED.

In the months and years ahead, hospitals and health networks that aren’t closely examining the ED will need to start, and they’ll need to select the solutions that enable them to capitalize on ARRA compliance and funding as soon as the certification process is set. Congrats to those who’ve pushed the ED effort over the past several months, and thank you to the policy makers who made the right call.

- Dr. Mark Crockett