EssayHealth informatics

EHR Implementing Essay

Three stages with their own measures, and barriers examined at each stage rather than in general. The stages escalate deliberately, and the barriers escalate with them.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 22, 2026

Written by

Maren Caldwell

MSN, RN, CNE

Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation

Reviewed by

Dr. Tessa Redmond

DNP, RN, CNE

Evidence-based practice and clinical education

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Interpret the task
Assignment instructions
Deliverables
Proposed outline
Research plan
Reference shortlist
Final review

Three stages, and barriers that escalate with them

The essay has a clear shape if you notice that the three stages escalate on purpose and that the barriers escalate with them. Stage one was about capture and sharing: getting structured data into the record at all, with measures such as recording demographics, problem lists, medication lists and vital signs, and using computerised order entry. Stage two moved to advanced processes and exchange, raising thresholds and adding requirements around electronic prescribing, transitions of care and patient access. Stage three focused on improved outcomes, with interoperability, patient engagement and clinical decision support at its centre. The programme was later restructured and renamed, and mentioning that shows you know the material is historical rather than current. Getting the sequence right also gives the essay its argument: the programme could not ask for outcomes first, because the data to measure them did not exist until capture was in place. Say that, and the stages stop being a list.

Then take the barriers stage by stage, because that is what the brief asks and it produces a much better essay than a general list. Stage one barriers were largely capital and disruption: purchase cost, the productivity fall during go-live, training time, and clinician resistance to structured entry replacing narrative. Stage two barriers were relational and technical, because the requirements depended on other organisations: you cannot meet a transitions-of-care measure alone, vendors charged for interfaces, and patient portal thresholds made providers accountable for behaviour they did not control. Stage three barriers were interoperability itself and alert fatigue from decision support, plus the documentation burden that the whole programme is now widely argued to have worsened. Small and rural practices carried all of this disproportionately, and saying so gives the essay an equity dimension most drafts miss, since a practice of three physicians faced the same requirements as a health system with an informatics department.

Likely learning objectives

Describe the three stages of meaningful use with their characteristic measures.
Explain why the stages were sequenced as capture, exchange, then outcomes.
Identify barriers specific to each stage rather than general to adoption.
Recognise the disproportionate burden on small and rural providers.

Assignment instructions

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Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Question Description Write a 1,200-1,500-word essay describing the electronic health records incentive programs, also known as meaningful use. It offers financial incentives and was designed to improve quality, safety, and efficiency of care through the use of electronic health records. Describe the three stages of meaningful use and their measures. Explain the challenges and barriers faced by facilities in implementing each stage of meaningful use. Include three to five references, including your textbook. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes. Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages. Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor. The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. EHR Implementing Essay ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. EHR Implementing Essay Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Turn the brief into deliverables

01A description of the incentive programme and its purpose.
02The three stages with example measures for each.
03Barriers analysed separately for each stage.
04A note that the programme was later restructured and renamed.
05An equity observation about small or rural practices.
06Three to five references, including the textbook.