Which policy aimed to promote the widespread adoption of electronic health records?

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

Answer: (C)

The question tests understanding of policy measures that drive the adoption of electronic health records by offering incentives and setting use standards. The HITECH Act, part of the 2009 economic stimulus package, created financial incentives for eligible professionals and hospitals to implement certified EHR technology and to use it in meaningful ways. It established stages of meaningful use to ensure that using EHRs would improve care quality, safety, and interoperability, and it funded health information exchange. It also imposed penalties for not meeting meaningful-use milestones, which pushed adoption more rapidly than market forces alone.

In contrast, a clinical decision support system is a tool used at the point of care, not a policy aimed at promoting widespread EHR adoption; a master patient index helps link patient records across systems but is a data organization concept rather than a policy; a patient/parent portal is a patient-facing interface for accessing records, not a policy designed to promote adoption.