ehr onc final certification - Department of Health Care Services

meaningful use Stage 1 objectives. The Department noted that some commenters
reported that having this information available would allow eligible hospitals to make
decisions that were better aligned with the patient’s express wishes. The “record advance
directives” certification criterion would ensure that Certified EHR Technology enables
users to electronically record whether a patient has an advance directive, which in turn
will help ensure that a patient’s wishes are known and can be followed.
Meaningful Use
Stage 1
Objective
Record advance
directives for
patients 65 years
old or older
Meaningful Use Stage 1
Measure
More than 50% of all unique
patients 65 years old or older
admitted to the eligible
hospital’s or CAH’s inpatient
department (POS 21) have an
indication of an advance
directive status recorded
Page 178 of 228
Certification Criterion
Final Rule Text:
§170.306(h)
Advance directives. Enable a user to
electronically record whether a patient has an
advance directive.
Comments. The Department received several comments that we should include
the capability to record advance directives as part of meaningful use of Certified EHR
Technology and, specifically, that it should be a requirement that pertains to eligible
hospitals. Other commenters reported that having this information available for the
patient would allow eligible hospitals to make decisions that were better aligned with the
patient’s express wishes. The HIT Policy Committee clarified that the purpose of the
meaningful use Stage 1 measure would be to indicate whether a patient has an advanced
directive. Furthermore, the committee recommended limiting this measure to patients 65
and older.
Response. We agree that the capability for a Complete EHR or EHR Module
designed for an inpatient setting should be included as a condition of certification.
Including this certification criterion in this final rule will enable eligible hospitals to meet