For years now, the healthcare system in the United States has been managing patient medical records through the creation of paper medical records, since then the situation has changed for the better with the introduction of an electronic medical record (EMR) system. This type of system has helped healthcare providers, hospitals, and other outpatient institutions extract data from a patient's medical record to speed up clinical diagnosis and provide needed care. Although this form of technology is very promising, studies have shown that this system is only the foundation for the next evolution of healthcare technology. Transforming the EMR into an electronic health record (EHR) system is the federal government's ultimate goal. Adopting Meaningful Use in Today's Healthcare Society The federal government has taken a stand in favor of standardizing care by creating incentive programs mandated by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 2009. This act encourages healthcare providers and healthcare institutions to adopt meaningful use in order to receive incentives from Medicare and Medicaid. Meaningful use is the adoption of a certified medical record system that captures or achieves specific objectives about a patient. Goals or measures are considered gold standard practices with the EHR system. Examples of measures include data entry of vital signs, demographics, allergies, entry of medical prescriptions, providing patients with electronic copies of their medical records, and many other pertinent patient-related information (Friedman et al, 2013, p. 1560). Studies by Jha et al. reviewed surveys completed by the 2010 American Hospital Association Annual Information Technology on the preparedness of 2,902 hospitals for Meanin... half of the document... several hours and providers were unable to document or extract data to or from graphic patients. The billing department also connects. This forced providers to temporarily document on paper until the server re-established the connection. References Friedman, D. J., Parrish, G., & Ross, D. A. (2013). Electronic health records and US public health: Current realities and future promises. American Journal of Public Health, 103(9), 1560-1567Hebda, T. & Czar, P. (2013). Computer manual for nurses and healthcare professionals. (5th edition). Sella Superiore River. : NJ: Pearson Education Jha, A. K., Burke, M. F., DesRoches, C., Joshi M. S., Kralovec P. D., Campbell E. G., & Buntin M. B. (2011). Progress toward meaningful use: Hospital adoption of electronic health records. The American Journal of Managed Care, 17, 117-123