Although clinics and healthcare providers don't have to worry about ICD-10 deadlines until next October, the timetable for Meaningful Use standards is continuing to move ahead this year. While some providers and payers have taken the necessary steps to ensure they meet the program's reporting requirements — either for Stage 1 or Stage 2 — in 2014, plenty of organizations are still confused as to what exactly they need to accomplish for Meaningful Use eligibility, when these benchmarks need to be reached and why they even need to be done at all.

To that end, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are beginning a webinar series this month, titled "Getting the Most out of Meaningful Use," to better elucidate this often-confusing subject for healthcare vendors, payers, providers and stakeholders. EHR Intelligence reports that the webinars will feature speakers such as Elisabeth Myers, CMS' policy and outreach lead for eHealth Initiatives, and Vidya Sellappan, the Office of eHealth Standards and Services' expert on EHR incentive programs.

According to the source, the webinar series will consist of these three classes:

• What the Delay Means to You (July 15): Answering questions about what industry members need to be doing now
• Meaningful Use Essentials for the Small Provider (July 30): Examining the checklist of what needs to be done and each requirement's deadline
• Preparing for the Future of Meaningful Use (August 13): Looking ahead at Meaningful Use preparations and how to handle payments.

The webinars are open to both members and non-members of the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI).

Meaningful Use standards and reporting requirements aren't just an industry-wide necessities, but also tools for developing more accurate records, reducing costs and improving overall patient care. Invest in the best chiropractic EHR software to ensure your practice's recordkeeping is up-to-date.