Impact of Meaningful Use on EpiCenter

“What impact will meaningful use have on the EpiCenter application?  Has there been exploration to determine if the system will meet the criteria for meaningful use?”

— Julie, Kane County Illinois

EpiCenter is a syndromic surveillance system used by state and local public health departments.  The optional meaningful use criteria leaves it to public health to determine if and how syndromic surveillance is conducted in their region.

Certification applies to electronic health records (EHR).  There is a lot of discussion about this topic, as well as the process and meaning of certification.  There are multiple stages of certification that apply to EHRs and those stages align with the implementation of Meaningful Use criteria.

Since EpiCenter is not an EHR, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) certification process does not apply to it.