Reposted from FierceEMR
May 30, 2013 | By Marla Durben Hirsch
I must admit, I was surprised when I read that Massachusetts’s healthcare law, passed last summer, includes a provision that requires physicians to demonstrate a “proficiency” in the use of EHRs, electronic prescribing, computerized physician order entry and other forms of health IT as a condition of licensure. The law defines “proficiency” as, at a minimum, sufficient skills to comply with the Meaningful Use requirements.
I’m surprised not only at the existence of the provision, but also that it’s received such scant attention. The law is slated to go into effect in 2015; I was alerted to it via a blog post published earlier this week by a Massachusetts physician who suggests that the requirement be rescinded. The provider, Hayward Zwerling, M.D., said that the government has a “misguided obsession” with dictating what kind of software and functionalities physicians should be using to treat patients.
Read more: EHR ‘proficiency’ requirement may have unintended consequences – FierceEMR