In the SpotLHIT | Darrin Menard, MD and Geoffrey Mire, MD

In February 2012, Darrin Menard, MD and Geoffrey Mire, MD of Scott Family Physicians in Lafayette began the process of achieving meaningful use (MU). The practice engaged the services of the LHIT Resource Center and worked with Project Coordinator Diete Dobroski. “Providing a MU gap analysis was essential to identifying where the practice fell in line with MU achievement and discovering any system or workflow issues. Acting as the liaison between the electronic health record (EHR) vendors, state and federal agencies, I tried to help them overcome any obstacles during the process,” says Dobroski.   

What was your experience in achieving meaningful use? 
DR. MIRE: It was a confusing and frustrating process. One of the challenges was the difficulty in understanding what exactly was required and how to make our EHR system provide the results in the manner required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
DR. MENARD: We started using EHRs in January 2005 and paid special attention to MU press releases over the subsequent time period since integration. In 2011, we upgraded our current EHR system to the specified MU qualifications. We instituted all of the guidelines needed for MU throughout our office workflow. At the end of 2011, we contacted Diete to complete our requirements to file for MU and completed the Stage 1 requirements by the end of March 2012. 

What was your experience with the transition and working with the LHIT Resource Center? 
DR. MIRE: Diete was a great help in keeping us organized and on task to maximize our time with CMS.
DR. MENARD: There were multiple challenges to complete the process of attesting for MU. First, we had to get EHRs established in our office environment. Second, we had to have the software company establish MU criteria as soon as possible. The next challenge was to institute all of the changes needed in the office environment and to inform the staff. A final criteria was our submission for the attestation process. With the help of the LHIT Resource Center, we were able to easily progress through this transaction. The experience working with Diete was invaluable to completing the process for our office.   

What are your recommendations for health care providers?
DR. MIRE: I recommend using someone who has experience with the process, such as Diete, who can provide guidance on what to do and how to report.
DR. MENARD: I highly recommend starting with the services offered by the LHIT Resource Center as soon as possible. The experience was very valuable with regard to time management and understanding the entire process of achieving MU as well as all of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive programs that are available.