Meaningful Use for Nurses: Implications and Recommendations

Meaningful Use for Nurses: Implications and Recommendations The 21st century is experiencing a major paradigm shift due to the technological advances of the latter part of the 20th century. Technology and technological innovation has pushed the envelope of access to information to unprecedented levels. During the early years of the 21stcentury, the political establishment sought to encourage technological advances in the medical field through financial incentives and legislation. The HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical and Health) Act provided significant funds to encourage the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) for organizations that could show meaningful use (MU) of EHRs using a predetermined set of criteria. This paper will discuss how the term “meaningful use” is defined, the implication that meaningful use will have on the nursing profession and potential recommendations for meaningful use as applicable for nursing………….Continued (09 Pages with References)