Meaningful Use is the term historically used to describe the federal incentive program that required healthcare providers to demonstrate effective use of certified electronic health record technology. The program has since evolved into the Promoting Interoperability program under CMS.
Why the term still matters
Many of the workflow expectations from Meaningful Use — structured documentation, computerized order entry, electronic prescribing, patient access to records — remain operational baselines for any modern telehealth platform.
What it means in practice
Patient-facing access to records, audit logs of clinical actions, computerized orders for prescribing, and structured documentation that produces a record an auditor can read. The platform should make these properties of the operating layer.