Meaningful Use

“Meaningful Use” is the type of use that eligible hospitals and eligible professionals must make of a certified electronic health record in order to qualify for Medicare incentive dollars under the HITECH Act.

Stages 1, 2, And Now 3, Meaningful Use Criteria

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposed Meaningful Use criteria to implement Stage 3 and allow eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (“CAHs”) to qualify for incentive payments (or avoid downward payment adjustments) under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program implemented by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act of 2009. stethoscope, keyboardThen CMS made changes to Stage 1 and Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria to better align with the proposed Stage 3 criteria just two weeks later.

On March 30, 2015, CMS published a long-awaited proposed rule which, if finalized, would implement Stage 3, making changes to the objectives and measures of meaningful use for providers effective in Continue reading →

Providers Talk, CMS Listens: CMS Announces Plan to Modify Meaningful Use Requirements

Margaret Young Levi Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Incentives, Meaningful Use , , , , , , , ,

On January 29, 2015, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) electronic health recordannounced its intent to make changes to the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs beginning in 2015, which aim to “help to reduce the reporting burden on providers.”

Providers have expressed concerns about the EHR Incentive Programs’ requirements and their burden on providers. In response to those concerns, CMS is considering whether to:

  • Shorten the EHR reporting period in 2015 to 90 days to accommodate these changes.
  • Realign hospital EHR reporting periods to the calendar year to allow eligible hospitals more time to incorporate 2014 Edition software into their workflows and to better align with other CMS quality programs.
  • Modify other aspects of the program to match long-term goals, reduce complexity, and lessen providers’ reporting burdens.

CMS is expected to engage in rulemaking this spring to implement these changes to the EHR Incentive Programs. These changes will not be included in the proposed regulations regarding Stage 3 meaningful use requirements and criteria that CMS plans to issue by early March 2015 and which will apply in 2017 and subsequent years.

 

Can’t Complete the Stage 2 MU Summary of Care Measure 3 Test with a CMS Designated Test EHR? CMS Issues New FAQ on Alternative

Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Incentives, Meaningful Use , , ,

HCP with stethoscope using phone while on laptopOn January 22, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated previously posted FAQ No. 11666 to help guide providers who are striving to meet Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs implemented by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. The updated FAQ addresses the problem providers are having in meeting Measure 3 under the Stage 2 Summary of Care objective. The question posed is:

“When reporting on the Summary of Care objective in the EHR Incentive Programs, how can eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) meet measure 3 if they are unable to complete a test with the CMS Designated Test EHR (NIST EHR-Randomizer Application)?”

The CMS answer is as follows: Continue reading →

THE HIPAA SECURITY RISK ANALYSIS

Margaret Young Levi Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Federal Law Resources, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Incentives, Meaningful Use, Physician EMR Stimulus , ,

businessman looking over his glasses with clipboard on hand - frUnder the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act), eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals and eligible professionals must make a “meaningful use” of “certified electronic health technology” or face reductions in Medicare reimbursement. Conducting or reviewing a security risk analysis is a core objective in the meaningful use requirements of the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (“EHR”) incentive programs. These security risk analyses have been Continue reading →

CMS Extends 2014 Meaningful Use Attestation and Quality Deadlines

Margaret Young Levi Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Incentives, Hospital EHR Stimulus, Meaningful Use ,

strike before midnightOn November 24, 2014, CMS announced a one-month extension of the deadline for eligible hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program 2014 reporting year. Medicare eligible hospitals must attest to meeting meaningful use requirements each year to receive an incentive and to avoid a payment adjustment. The deadline is being extended from 11:59 pm EST on November 30, 2014 to 11:59 pm EST on December 31, 2014, and CMS states this will “allow more time for hospitals to submit their meaningful use data and receive an incentive payment for the 2014 program year, as well as avoid the 2016 Medicare payment adjustment.”

CMS also extended the deadline for eligible hospitals and CAHs to electronically submit clinical quality measures (CQMs) until December 31, 2014.

Please note that these extensions are only for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program and will not affect the deadlines for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

Upcoming Deadlines:

  • December 31, 2014 at 11:59 pm ET: Attestation deadline for Medicare eligible hospitals and CAHs for the 2014 program year
  • December 31, 2014: Deadline for hospitals and CAHs to submit eCQMs.
  • December 31, 2014: End of 2014 calendar year and end of the 2014 reporting period for eligible professionals
  • February 28, 2015: Attestation deadline for Medicare eligible professionals.

For additional information, check out the EHR Incentives Programs website.