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Although most experts predict that the long-term benefits of the structure provided by the Meaningful Use program will be obvious, the guidelines have not been introduced without creating some significant challenges for healthcare providers, especially with regards to patient engagement.

It is anticipated that Stage 3 requirements of patient engagement will dramatically raise the benchmark to 25%. Raising participation to 25% is a significant challenge, especially given that most providers are still struggling to meet the current 5% participation required to qualify for Stage 2 incentives.

The ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation deadline for everyone covered by HIPAA is set for October 1, 2015 and it is expected that all HIPAA-covered entities will have completed the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS by this date.

In order to demonstrate patient engagement to satisfy MU Stage 2 requirements, medical practices need to implement a patient engagement strategy.

When considering an integrated PM and EMR system make sure that it comes with a full suite of patient engagement and social media tools that are intuitive, reliable and secure. The following are some design considerations to keep in mind when looking at EHRs with integrated patient portals.