School’s back in session, which means that first round of exams is right around the corner. While it is not quite as applicable to optometrists, since most of you have left the school scene behind, we realize that Meaningful Use criteria can be tricky so we thought a little quiz might be appropriate.
Discover What You Know About Meaningful Use 
Criteria
1) When is the last day you can attest for Stage 1 of Meaningful Use without receiving penalties?
A. December 1, 2014
B. October 1, 2014
C. February 1, 2015
2) True or False: You can move on to Stage 2 of Meaningful Use without completing Stage 1.
3) The main focus of Stage 2 of Meaningful Use is on:
A. Patient Safety & Engagement
B. Basic Data Entry
C. Advanced Clinical Processes
4) True or False: Meaningful Use certified EHR software all operates on the same underlying codes.
5) True or False: You can be audited at any time during your participation in the Meaningful Use Program.
Answers
1) B. October 1, 2014. The beginning of October is the last chance your practice has to successfully attest to Stage 1 of Meaningful Use without penalties in 2015. The 90 day reporting period has to be done before 2015 and from there you will required to complete a full year in 2015. The CMS website is a great resource for the latest Meaningful Use updates and deadline changes.2) False! You must fully complete Stage 1 before you can move forward to Stage 2. Learning to attest to Stage 1 is like building a house: you have to fully complete the foundation before you can start building the walls and adding windows and doors.
3) C. Advanced Clinical Processes. Stage 2 of Meaningful Use focuses heavily on using E-Prescribing to get your patients their medications, incorporating lab results into the patients’ medical records, and directly sharing electronic patient healthcare summaries with all other doctors, regardless of specialty. The main focus of Stage 1 is on basic data entry, while Stage 3 plans to focus more on patient safety and engagement.
4) True. In order for multiple doctors systems to be able to communicate with each other, there must be a standard, underlying code that all certified EHRs use.
5) True. Any time you receive money from the government, you need to be aware that they can audit you at any time. There is no need to panic, though, as long as you are prepared and doing everything correctly, you will be fine!
Were you as successful as you thought at our little quiz, or do you need to sharpen up on your Meaningful Use knowledge? Check out our Beginner's Guide for Meaningful Use!
