Special CME Issue - West Virginia State Medical Association

Table 1. Meaningful Use Objectives and Clinical Quality Measures Related to Prevention
Meaningful use element Description Relationship to prevention
Core Objectives 1
(Physician’s EHR use must
meet 15, 5 of which relate to
prevention)
Menu Objectives (Physician
EHRs must meet at least 5
of 10)
Core Clinical Quality
Measures 2 (Physician EHR
must report all of them if
they have eligible patients)
Alternative Core Measures
(Physician EHR must report
if no patients reported in one
or more core measure)
Additional Care Quality
Measures (Physician EHR
must report 3 applicable to
practice)
Maintain an up-to-date problem list of current
and active diagnoses
Record all of the following demographics:
(A) Preferred language.
(B) Gender.
(C) Race.
(D) Ethnicity.
(E) Date of birth.
Record and chart changes in the following vital
signs:
(A) Height.
(B) Weight.
(C) Blood pressure.
(D) Calculate and display body mass index
(BMI).
(E) Plot and display growth charts for children
2–20 years, including BMI.
Record smoking status for patients 13 years old
or older.
Report ambulatory clinical quality measures to
CMS or, in the case of Medicaid EPs, the States.
Generate lists of patients by specific conditions
to use for quality improvement, reduction of
disparities, research, or outreach.
Send patient reminders per patient preference
for preventive/follow-up care.
Use certified EHR technology to identify patientspecific
education resources and provide those
resources to the patient if appropriate.
Capability to submit electronic data to
immunization registries or immunization
information systems and actual submission
according to applicable law and practice.
Capability to submit electronic syndromic
surveillance data to public health agencies and
actual submission according to applicable law
and practice.
Blood pressure measurement
Smoking screening/smoking cessation
Adult weight screening and follow-up
Weight assessment and counseling for children
and adolescents
Childhood immunization status
Influenza immunization patients 50 years old or
older
19 of the 39 additional quality measures deal
with primary or secondary prevention of various
conditions
Targeting patients for disease-specific
secondary prevention services (such as eye
exams for diabetics) requires an accurate,
complete, and searchable list.
Identifying population subgroups in need of
preventive services requires the ability to
select based on age, race, and gender to
identify individuals who would benefit.
Monitoring success of efforts to prevent
complications of illness such as obesity or
hypertension requires longitudinal collection of
data and periodic analysis to find individuals
who need more intensive services to meet
therapeutic objectives.
Allows physicians to intervene to prevent
consequences of smoking and to monitor
success in those efforts.
More than half of the quality measures relate
to prevention. Reporting allows policy makers
to gauge success of national efforts and
provide assistance/incentives as appropriate.
Coupled with individual problem lists, allows
targeting patients for disease-specific
secondary prevention services.
One tool for increasing use of appropriate
preventive services.
Such resources may include information,
advice, and support for preventive care.
Immunization registries allow physicianhealth
department partnership to identify and
immunize children who might otherwise get
sick.
Enhances the public health agency’s capability
to detect and respond to epidemics, potentially
preventing spread of disease.
All are key primary and secondary preventive
services recommended by the US Preventive
Services Task Force
Note: these two references apply to the table above
1. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2011-2012 Eligible Professional Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs). http://www.cms.gov/
EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/CQM_EPs_2012_02_02.pdf. Accessed 2/26/2012, 2012.
2. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Eligible Professional Meaningful Use Table of Contents Core and Menu Set Objectives. http://www.cms.
gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/EP-MU-TOC.pdf. Accessed 2/26/2012, 2012.
50 West Virginia Medical Journal