216499 Meaningful use of the Omaha System: Considering adoption of an EHR

Monday, November 8, 2010

Karen S. Martin, RN, MSN, FAAN , Martin Associates, Omaha, NE
Karen A. Monsen, RN, PhD , School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Kathryn H. Bowles, RN, PhD, FAAN , School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reimburse physicians and hospitals for “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs). Although many are advocating for expansion to public health, the Act will impact health departments regardless. “Meaningful use” suggests that better healthcare is achieved through interoperability or the exchange of health information to best inform clinical decisions at the point-of-care. The cornerstones of meaningful use are (1) Improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities, (2) Engage patients and families, (3) Improve care coordination, (4) Improve population and public health, and (5) Ensure privacy and security protections. Meaningful use requires an integrated healthcare community that reduces health disparities, and is congruent with social justice. Structured clinical documentation and standardized terminologies are necessary prerequisites for such integration. The Omaha System is a research-based, standardized, comprehensive terminology that exists in the public domain, and is linked to the cornerstones of meaningful use. It was designed to be user-friendly and improve practice, documentation, and information management throughout the community. It is included in SNOMED CT®, LOINC, and HL7, the US DHHS messaging standards, and in HITSP use cases, the national initiative to increase interoperability. Interdisciplinary practitioners at the point-of-care, managers and administrators, students and educators, and researchers as well as software developers who base their clinical information systems on the Omaha System recognize that it can be meaningful to generate and track consistent and accurate data. Because adoption of information technology is expanding rapidly in health departments and other provider sites, it is important to work together to improve, describe, quantify, and communicate data about the quality and costs of clinical services. Therefore, the use of the Omaha System is increasing nationally and internationally.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Other professions or practice related to public health
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related nursing
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1.Describe why "meaningful use" is important to those involved in public health. 2.Discuss how "meaningful use" is related to care for all in the community, the Omaha System, and EHRs. 3.Summarize interdisciplinary benefits of using the Omaha System.

Keywords: Information Technology, Information Systems

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I served as the director of research for 16 years while the Omaha System was developed and refined. During that time and the next 16 years, I have continued to participate in research, write for publication, provide consultation, and speak about practice, documentation, informatics, and the Omaha System.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes

Name of Organization Clinical/Research Area Type of relationship
People from numerous organizations People attended Omaha System Basic Workshops and purchased Omaha System books Author of the 2005 Omaha System book published by Health Connections Press, Consultant and Speaker's bureau and teaching engagements

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.