The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The law includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or the "HITECH Act," which established programs under Medicare and Medicaid to provide incentive payments for the "meaningful use" of certified electronic health records (EHR) technology.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has a role in three areas of the HITECH Act:
- Implementation of the EHR incentive programs, including defining meaningful use of certified EHR technology;
- Establishment of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for EHR technology.
- Privacy and Security protections under the HITECH Act
