The State of Primary Care The Affordable Care Act has increased the number of insured …show more content…
The term, ‘Credentialed’ refers to employees that have been certified or registered through a national credentialing organization that is not the employer (“CMS Clarifies Rule for Meaningful Use Order Entry,” n.d.). Requirements specifying the percent of EHR to be entered by credentialed staff were rolled out in 2011, 2013, and 2015, increasing at each phase. Records that fall under these regulations include medication, laboratory, and radiology orders (“Meaningful Use & Certified Medical Assistants: The Truth Regarding CPOE,” n.d.). The act included financial incentives for health care systems and providers that meet the requirements and increased Medicare/Medicaid fees for those that do not (“Introduction | Meaningful Use | CDC,” n.d.). While records entered by LPN’s and RN’s would meet the Meaningful Use requirements, it is difficult to justify removing these highly skilled individuals from providing direct patient care and paying them $20-$30/hr to engage in data entry. This has led to an increase in demand for CMA’s who can balance their day between data entry and providing a basic level of patient care for $10-$15/hr. For these reasons, the focus on Meaningful Use of EHR has significantly increased the demand for CMA’s (“Medical Assisting Trends in 2016 and Beyond,” …show more content…
It is marked by comprehensive, patient-centered, coordinated, accessible, quality healthcare that takes a holistic approach to patient care by focusing on the entire person and coordinating care across the health system (IWIB Healthcare Taskforce, 2014). Patient-centered means that care is provided as part of an ongoing relationship between providers, patients, and their families to ensure patients are supported and have the information they need to make decisions about their care and medication. Care must be culturally appropriate and address both physical and mental