Which law promoted the use of electronic health records?

• A. Interoperability
• B. Patient/Parent Portal
• C. MPI
• D. HITECH Act

Answer: (D)

Government policy to promote electronic health records adoption is the focus here. The HITECH Act, enacted in 2009 as part of the stimulus package, provided financial incentives to healthcare providers and hospitals to adopt, implement, and meaningfully use electronic health records. It established the meaningful use program (later called promoting interoperability), with specific criteria and milestones that had to be met to receive incentive payments. This policy shift spurred a major move from paper to digital records and encouraged data sharing across systems, which is why it’s the law that directly promoted EHR use. Interoperability is the goal of how systems exchange data, not a law itself. A patient/parent portal is a feature of EHRs, not the policy that promotes adoption. The MPI is a data-management tool, not legislation.