Once a practice has decided to adopt electronic health records, the next step is to figure out how to do so in accordance with the government's meaningful use rules. At first glance, this may seem like a daunting procedure, but there are numerous resources available to help make the process easier.

For example, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently issued a new document that takes physicians through the entire attestation process, providing detailed information on the steps practices need to take to qualify for the incentive program and begin receiving payments.

The document primarily focuses on clinical quality measures, which demonstrate that practices are using the technology to drive improvements in patient care. The most important thing, the guideline stresses, is to report information that has been generated by a certified EHR system.

Clinical quality measures have been seen as one of the stiffest requirements of meaningful use, as they go beyond simply technical standards and force physicians to show they are using EHRs to drive quality improvements.

However, by taking advantage of available resources, which may also include technical support from an EHR vendor, practices may have less difficulty.