At HIMSS09 held in Chicago last month, the two words I heard most were, “meaningful use.” If you think about it, the definition of those two simple words holds the key to billions of dollars.

The recently passed stimulus package allots an estimated $17.2 billion in incentives for Medicare and Medicaid providers who can prove they have meaningfully used healthcare IT. Yet for now, all providers can do is await the definition of meaningful use from the federal government in the hope they will have time to prepare to collect data in 2010 and receive bonuses in 2011.

The best speculations I’ve heard so far come from two experts close to the source.

John Halamka, MD, chairman of the Health Information Standards Technology Panel said at HIMSS09 he could “guarantee” that meaningful use would include quality of care measurements. He also said he expects meaningful use to include elements of federally recognized HITSP use cases.

Kelly Cronin, program director at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology said at the least, providers would have to prove they are using healthcare IT to improve the quality of care, not just to increase their administrative speed over paper.

At the April 16 World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C., Cronin said providers can count on several elements to be included in the definition of meaningful use. First, how well is the healthcare IT product being used to improve outcomes, with an emphasis on capacity and ability to improve care? The second will be on interoperability and how well a provider can exchange information with other providers. And third, the government will look at a provider’s capacity to report on quality data and performance measures.

With Congress back from spring recess as we go to press, hopefully the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary designate Kathleen Sebelius, will be confirmed soon. She is the only one, according to mandate, who can truly answer the question: “What in the world is meaningful use?”