Are you clear about the "meaningful use" of an EHR?

I'm sure at HIMSS10, we'll hear many discussions regarding the "meaningful use" of a certified electronic health record or EHR. Today at HIMSS10, there is a physician symposium titled, "Physicians' IT Symposium: What it Means to be a Meaningful User." Are you now clear about the phrase "meaningful use," or do you feel more confused than ever? Here's a little description of the symposium:

From the large organization to the small physician practice, this is a critical time for healthcare IT. This highly acclaimed symposium will examine planning, implementation, workflow, vendor guidance, and legal aspects of the EMR. Small interactive discussions will tackle the meaningful use criteria.
Symposium Educational Objectives - After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Discuss the meaningful use criteria related to aspects including patient privacy, clinical information exchange and public health organizations
• Describe malpractice implications in using electronic health records, personal health records and health information exchanges
• Summarize questions physicians should ask their vendor before implementing electronic medical records in order to comply with meaningful use criteria. 

The phrase "meaningful use" is the key to unlocking the questions behind the financial incentives tied around health IT. To stay current on the HHS Rule Development surrounding "meaningful use," make sure to read the content on this HHS.gov page.