The mission of radiologyMU.org is to provide eligible professionals (EPs) in the diagnostic imaging community with objective information about meaningful use criteria and quality measures as they relate to the field of medical imaging.

With nearly $1.5 billion in available incentive payments for eligible diagnostic imaging professionals in the United States, each professional has the opportunity to receive up to $44,000 for achieving meaningful use before 2015. In order to receive all incentives, meaningful use must begin by October 3, 2012. Starting in 2015, Medicare payment reductions will begin for not demonstrating meaningful use - hundreds of millions of dollars are at risk annually and that number may reach billions as private payers start to mimic federal guidelines.

New: Stage 2 Meaningful Use Resources

In late February 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Stage 2 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT released the Stage 2 Standards and Certification NPRM. On March 7, 2012, these proposed rules were published in the Federal Register.

View the ACR Draft Summary: American College of Radiology Draft Summary of Proposed Rules: CMS Stage 2 Meaningful Use and ONC 2014 Edition HIT Certification Criteria, Standards, and Implementation Specifications

View the ACR CMS Comments (submitted May 4, 2012): ACR comments on the CMS NPRM
View the ACR ONC Comments (submitted May 4, 2012): ACR comments on the ONC NPRM

View the full CMS NPRM: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Stage 2

CMS NPRM Corrections (Update: April 18): View the Stage 2 NPRM corrections issued by CMS

View the full ONC NPRM: Office of the National Coordinator for HIT (ONC) Standards and Certification Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)

RMU Practice Analyzer: Try it today for free!

The Radiology Meaningful Use Practice Analyzer is a unique application intended for all US radiologists hoping to understand, and potentially participate in, the CMS EHR Incentive Programs. The online application will guide you through the complex process of analyzing your practice for Meaningful Use.

Register for your free membership on radiologyMU.org and/or login to your account and get started today! Click here to launch the Meaningful Use Practice Analyzer (link opens a new window).

Featured Resource: The Radiologist's Guide to Meaningful Use

Did you know that most radiologists are eligible for the CMS EHR Incentive Programs? Are you prepared for meaningful use? Not sure where to begin?

The Radiologist's Guide to Meaningful Use will help you prepare, develop, execute, and sustain a successful meaningful use strategy—this guide is a road map for diagnostic imaging professionals as they tackle meaningful use and addresses the challenges associated with these incentive programs, and...

• Provides a detailed explanation of what meaningful use is and how it applies to the field of medical imaging
• Offers an overview of program incentives, penalties, objectives, measures, and the product certification process
• Outlines an easy to follow 10-step approach for achieving meaningful use and reaping the financial and patient care benefits of the program
• Presents insight from the field through experiential interviews with industry leaders
• Discusses advocacy efforts and a takes a brief look at future stages of the program
• Provides countless additional resources to assist you along the way...

The Radiologist's Guide to Meaningful Use has everything you need to be successful. It examines the complex set of one-size-fits-all requirements that makes up the program, discusses how these initiatives impact radiology, offers guidance for building your meaningful use strategy, and provides guidance for the diagnostic imaging community.

For more information and to buy the book, visit www.theMUguide.com.

How We Got Here: The Road to Meaningful Use

On January 24, 2009, newly sworn in President Obama uttered a bold promise: "To lower health care cost, cut medical errors, and improve care, we'll computerize the nation's health records in five years, saving billions of dollars in health care costs and countless lives." It's those words that marked the beginning of healthcare reform.

In the time since that first weekly address, a number of significant events have unfolded:

• May 2012: ACR submits comments to CMS and the ONC on Stage 2 NPRMs
• April 2012: ONC HIT Policy Committee meets; various Workgroups present draft comments
• March 2012: Major specialty societies meet with CMS staff
• February 2012: CMS issues a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Stage 2 and ONC releases the Standards and Certification NPRM
• Janaury 2012: Additional Meeting with ONC and CMS on Meaningful Use and Hospital-Located Eligible Professionals takes place
• December 2011: ONC's HIT Standards Committee and HIT Policy Committee-MU Workgroup Discuss Early Plans for Exploring Imaging Standards and the RBMA, ACR and Other Stakeholders Meet With ONC to Discuss Hospital-Located EPs Without Physical Practice Infrastructures
• November 2011: ONC HIT Policy Committee/Meaningful Use (MU) Workgroup/Specialist Subgroup holds conference call to discuss MU and specialized medicine
• October 2011: ONC HIT Policy Committee/Meaningful Use Workgroup/Specialist Subgroup held its first meeting to discuss gaps and opportunities regarding MU and specialists
• June 2011: HIT Policy Committee makes recommendations to the National Coordinator on Meaningful Use Stage 2
• May 2011: ACR Participates in HHS Hearing on 'Meaningful Use and Specialists'
• April 2011: Dr. Farzad Mostashari named new National Coordinator for HIT at the ONC
• March 2011: ACR verbally comments to full HITPC and MU workgroup
• February 2011: ACR comments on draft Stage 2 meaningful use measure recommendations
• January 2011: RSNA and ACR comment on ONC RFI regarding PCAST report
• December 2010: ONC announces the addition of two ATCB groups - ICSA Labs in Mechanicsburg, PA and SLI Global Solutions in Denver, CO
• September 2010: HHS selects third group - InfoGard Laboratories - to test and certify electronic health records systems for supporting meaningful use
• August 2010: HHS selects first two EHR certification groups - Certification Commission for Health IT (CCHIT) and the Drummond Group (DGI)
• July 2010: CMS and ONC released final rules implementing Stage 1 of meaningful use
• April 2010: Congress passes H.R.4851, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010
• March 2010: The ACR, joined by the American Board of Radiology (ABR), Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), and Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM), issued a collective set of comments to all twenty-five reporting measures of the proposed EHR incentive program as it applies to radiology
• January 2010: Following the release of the IFR and NPRM, a public comment period was initiated with a deadline of March 15, 2010
• December 2009: CMS issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which outlined three incentive programs and the provisions governing each program
• December 2009: ONC issued its Interim Final Rule (IFR), a summary of recommendations on MU which proposed the initial set of standards and certification criteria as well as implementation specifications
• October 2009: American College of Radiology (ACR) proposed topics to the HIT Policy Committee that it viewed as relevant to the discussion of radiology meaningful use (RMU)
• March 2009: Under the auspices of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), two committees were formed; the Health IT Policy Committee and Health IT Standards Committee
• March 2009: Obama administration appointed David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, as national coordinator of health information technology for the ONC
• February 2009: Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was born as a subset of the ARRA
• February 2009: Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009

Industry News: Radiology Meaningful Use Media Coverage

• CMIO.net: ACR weighs in on proposed MU rules from CMS, ONC - Read more...
• AppliedRadiology.com: Meaningful use: What it means to radiologists - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: MU2: Value Proposition for Radiology - Read more...
• ITNonline.com: Finding the Meaning of Meaningful Use - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: Finding Greater Meaning in Stage 2 Meaningful Use - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: Embarking on the Meaningful Use Path - Read more...
• AuntMinnie.com: Deadline looms for comment on stage 2 MU proposals - Read more...
• HealthImaging.com: MU & Radiology: Can a Square Peg Fit in a Round Hole? - Read more...
• DiagnosticImaging.com: Stage 2 Meaningful Use Proposal Includes Imaging - Read more...
• InformationWeek.com: Changes Planned For Meaningful Use Rules - Read more...
• iHealthBeat.org: ONC Releases Stage 2 Proposed Rule on Certification of EHRs - Read more...
• CMIO.net: CSC elucidates Stage 2 meaningful use NPRM - Read more...
• AuntMinnie.com: HIMSS: Imaging included in stage 2 of meaningful use - Read more...
• HealthImaging.com: AR: Making sense of the MU maze - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: 49 flavors of meaningful use - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: Ready, Set—Attest - Read more...
• SearchHealthIT.com: At RSNA, radiologists explore role in HIE initiatives - Read more...
• AuntMinnie.com: Implementing meaningful use isn't a cakewalk yet - Read more...
• HealthcareITNews.com: Meaningful Use & Radiology - Dive In, All Clear - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: Radiology and MU: Questions Loom As Attestation Begins - Read more...
• HealthDataManagement.com: Meaningful Use Creating a New Role for RIS? - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: Seeking Meaning in Meaningful Use - Read more...
• DiagnosticImaging.com: Tales from the Trenches of Meaningful Use - Read more...
• CMIO.net: RSNA: Informatics will drive patient-centric radiology - Read more...
• RadiologyToday.net: Meaningful Use Planning for Radiologists - Read more...
• Healthcare-Informatics.com: Postcards from the Imaging Informatics Road - Read more...
• HealthDataManagement.com: Radiology Folds into Meaningful Use Mix - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: Meaningful Use, Aging Equipment Spur RIS Adoption - Read more...
• ITNonline.com: Meaningful Use and Radiology: Moving Toward Cohesion - Read more...
• HealthImaging.com: JACR: MU may mean $1.5B for radiology - Read more...
• DiagnosticImaging.com: What Health Reform Means for Radiologists - Read more...
• RadiologyToday.net: Meaningful Use - Radiology Looks Ahead to Stage 2 - Read more...
• ImagingBiz.com: The Plot Thickens on Meaningful Use for Radiology - Read more...
• AuntMinnie.com: SIIM: 'Meaningful use' can be mastered - Read more...
• HealthImaging.com: SIIM: Dreyer busts meaningful use myths for rads - Read more...
• DiagnosticImaging.com: MU: Start Early for Maximum Patient and Financial Benefits - Read more...

For a complete list of all past meaningful use media coverage for radiology professionals, check out the radiologyMU.org Resource Center.