Public Health Syndromic Surveillance for Meaningful Use

Basic Information

The number of US healthcare providers using electronic health records (EHRs) is increasing due to an estimated $27 billion investment made in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009.

Under ARRA, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act authorizes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC) to support EHR adoption and modernization through technology incentive payments and adjustments in Medicare reimbursements.

To qualify for the incentive payments and avoid reduced Medicare reimbursements, eligible healthcare professionals and hospitals must demonstrate that their EHRs can perform a range of measurable functions required for improving the quality, safety and effectiveness of care. Also known as 'meaningful use requirements', these functions include collecting and sending public health syndromic surveillance (PHSS) data for improving public and population health.

The Meaningful Use programs promise to have a profound and lasting impact on public health surveillance. As public health agencies and eligible hospitals and health professionals implement systems that address the syndromic surveillance measure, there are cost-saving and other resources available.