CMS Posts Sneak Preview of Meaningful Use Attestation, Which Opens April 18, 2011

March 29, 2011October 31, 2011 Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus, Meaningful Use, Physician EMR Stimulus Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Act, hospital incentives for EHRs, linkedin, meaningful use of certified EHR

Eligible Professionals (EPs), Eligible Hospitals (EHs) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) who make a meaningful use of a certified electronic health record(EHR) are eligible for financial incentives under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act). EPs , EHs and CAHs will be able to attest to meeting the “meaningful use” criteria through a special on-line portal beginning April 18, 2011. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has posted a sneak preview of the attestation system with screenshots of the meaningful use screens that providers will complete in order to attest to meaningful use. More information about how to register and attest is available on the CMS official website for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.

CMS Posts Helpful EHR Incentive Program Registration Guides

January 7, 2011August 14, 2012 Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus, Physician EMR Stimulus Electronic Health Records, eligible professional incentives for electronic medical records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Act, hospital incentives for EHRs, linkedin, meaningful use of certified EHR, ONC, State Medicaid EHR Incentives

CMS has posted very helpful Electronic Health Record (EHR) Registration User Guides, one for Eligible Hospitals and one for Eligible Professionals. The Guides provide an excellent overview of the path to receiving EHR Incentives available under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. As I pointed out in my previous post, CMS is encouraging Eligible Hospitals and Eligible Professionals to go ahead and register in advance of making an attestation to meaningful use of a certified EHR. CMS has set up the system so that registrants do not have to fear that registration alone could somehow subject them to penalties later for failing to follow through with implementing and making an meaningful use of an EHR. This is evident by reviewing the way in which the registration system is broken down into four parts or “tabs”: Registration, Attestation, Status and Account Management.

Registration Tab. Here is where hospitals and physicians (as well as other practitioners eligible for incentives under State Medicaid programs) can register for the EHR Incentive Program. Registrants also will access this Tab to take one of the following actions: Continue an Incomplete Registration, Modify an Existing Registration, Resubmit a registration that was previously deemed ineligible, Reactivate a Registration, Switch Incentive Programs (Medicare/Medicaid), Switch Medicaid State, and Cancel Participation in the EHR Incentive Program.

Attestation Tab. Under this Tab is where registrants can submit their Attestation of meaningful use when ready. This Tab also provides options and instructions for Registrants wanting to: Continue an Incomplete Attestation, Modify an Existing Attestation, or Discontinue an Attestation.

Status Tab. Here, registrants can view the status of Registration, Attestation and their EHR Incentive Payment.

Account Management Tab. Here, registrants can Update Account Information, Request Access to Organizations, or Remove Access to Organizations.

The Hospital Guide can be accessed here and the Eligible Professional Guide can be accessed here.

CMS Opens Registration for EHR Incentives on January 3, 2011

December 30, 2010October 31, 2011 Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus Electronic Health Records, eligible professional incentives for electronic medical records, HITECH Act, hospital incentives for EHRs, linkedin, State Medicaid EHR Incentives

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated its HITECH electronic health records webpage to include information about registration for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Per CMS, registration opens on January 3, 2011 and a link will be available on the CMS HITECH website here. CMS encourages providers to register for the Medicare and/or Medicaid EHR Incentive Program(s) as soon as possible. Providers can register before they have a certified EHR. CMS encourages providers to register even if they do not have an enrollment record in PECOS!

CMS also notes that although the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs will begin January 3, 2011, not all states will be ready to participate on this date. As of this posting, registration will be available on January 3, 2011 for the following states:

Alaska — Iowa — Kentucky — Louisiana — Oklahoma — Michigan — Mississippi — North Carolina — South Carolina — Tennessee — Texas

Information on when registration will be available for Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs in specific States is posted here. For more information from CMS about the EHR Incentive Program, click here.

Critical Access Hospitals to Submit Part C Informational Only Claims to Medicare Contractors for EHR Incentive Payment Purposes

October 19, 2010August 14, 2012 Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus Calculating HITECH Incentives, Electronic Health Records, HITECH Act, hospital incentives for EHRs, linkedin

On October 15, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Transmittal 2066 to address the submission of informational only claims by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) as well as Maryland Waiver Hospitals in order to track Part C patient days for purposes of calculating the Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentives available to such hospitals. Informational only claims are billed for patients enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) Plan. The Transmittal also includes the Incentive Payment formula for Subsection (d) hospitals as well as CAHs, as follows: Continue reading →

CMS Posts Updated and New EHR Incentive FAQs

September 28, 2010August 14, 2012 Kathie McDonald-McClure EHR Certification Standards, Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus, Meaningful Use, Physician EMR Stimulus eligible professional incentives for electronic medical records, HITECH Act, hospital incentives for EHRs, linkedin, meaningful use of certified EHR

On September 27, 2010, CMS updated its answers and posted a few new ones to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the electronic health record (EHR) incentives available under the HITECH Act’s Meaningful Use (“MU”) Final Rule. Here is a sampling of answers addressed in the FAQs:

Registration for Medicare MU incentives is to be available on-line in January 2011 with more information to come near end of 2010.
All EHR products must be certified through the ONC Authorzied Testing and Certification Body (ATCB) in order to meet MU.
Providers, not vendors, must demonstrate MU of certified EHRs.
Payment of Medicare MU incentives is expected to begin in May 2011.
There is no funding to reimburse a provider for EHR implementation costs that exceed the established MU incentive payment caps.
Ambulatory Surgery Centers are not eligible for the EHR incentives.
There is no funding under the HITECH Act for nursing home EHRs.
Eligible Professionals (EPs) may assign their incentive payments to their employer or an entity with whom the EP has a contractual arrangement.
EPs cannot receive an incentive payment under both the Medicare MU program and the MIPPA E-Prescribing Incentive Program in the same year.
EPs can receive both the Medicaid MU Program incentive and the MIPPA E-Prescribing Incentive Program payment for the same year.
An EP in a hospital-based ambulatory care clinic may be eligible to receive the Medicare MU Incentives if such EP is not providing 90% of his or her services in the hospital ED or inpatient care setting.
EPs eligible for both the Medicare MU incentive and Medicaid MU incentive payment in the same year must choose one.
Once an EP receives an MU incentive payment under either Medicare or Medicaid, that EP can switch between the programs only once before 2015.
The reporting period for EPs is 90 consecutive days during the first calendar year that the EP qualifies and a full calendar year thereafter.
Medicare payment adjustments begin in 2015 for both EPs and hospitals who do not demonstrate MU.
CMS will publish the names, addresses and business phone numbers of all EPs and hospitals receiving EHR incentive payments.
The meaning of numerators and denominators in the measures required to establish MU is briefly summarized in this FAQ.
Patients admitted through the Emergency Department (ED) will be included in the MU measures respecting inpatients.

As of today’s date, there were 103 FAQs related to EHR incentives. To read all the FAQs about EHR incentives, go to the CMS FAQs webpage and enter the search terms “EHR incentives.”