Stage 2 of Meaningful Use under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act) requires providers who want the HITECH Act’s EHR incentive payments to ensure that at least some patients are engaged and are actually using their electronic health records (EHRs). The Final Rule for the Stage 2 criteria call for eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) to provide a means for patients to access their health care information online. EPs must also provide a means for patients to send secure messages electronically, however, patients have to actually use these services in order for providers to meet these new measures for making a Meaningful Use of certified EHRs.
Health Information Technology
House Calls for Suspension of EHR Incentive Payments under HITECH Act
On Thursday, October 4, 2012, in a letter to Secretary Sebelius of the United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the United States House GOP called on HHS to suspend incentive payments for the adoption and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) otherwise authorized under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act). The GOP also asked HHS to delay the imposition of penalties on providers who choose not to use EHRs in their practice (such penalties that pursuant to the HITECH Act provisions are to take the form of reductions in Medicare reimbursements in 2015). Continue reading
Final Rules for Stage 2 EHR Incentive Programs Released
First, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the long-awaited final rule to govern Stage 2 of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. The rule specifies the Stage 2 criteria that eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) must meet in order to continue to participate in the EHR Incentive Programs.
- Click here for the full text of CMS’s final rule.
- Click here to see the fact sheet on CMS’s final rule.
Second, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) also announced a related final rule, which specifies the technical capabilities and related standards and implementation specifications that Certified EHR Technology will need to include to support the achievement of meaningful use by EPs, eligible hospitals, and CAHs under the EHR Incentive Programs.
- Click here for the full text of the ONC rule.
- Click here to read a fact sheet on ONC’s standards and certification criteria final rule.
Stay tuned. We will be posting more about these final rules in the days to come.
Get Ready for Audits on EHR Incentive Payments
The promised audits have begun for providers receiving electronic health records (EHR) incentives available under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.
In order to receive Medicare EHR incentive payments, providers must attest to CMS that they meet Meaningful Use (MU) criteria using certified EHR technology. Any provider attesting to receive an EHR incentive payment for either the Medicare EHR Incentive Program or the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program potentially may be subject to an audit. If an audit finds a provider is not eligible for an EHR incentive payment because it does not meet MU criteria, then the incentive payment will be recouped. Here’s what providers need to know to prepare for an audit:
OMB Delays Final HIPAA Rule Indefinitely While GAO Urges HHS to Issue Additional HIPAA Security and Privacy Guidance
On June 22, 2012, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that it was delaying release of the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule (HIPAA Rule) under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act) from a projected early July date, to a future unspecified date.
The much-anticipated HIPAA Rule contains implementing regulations for five aspects of the Act: 1) enforcement (new penalty levels); 2) breach notification; 3) use of genetic information by health plans; 4) application of the HIPAA Security Rule requirements directly to business associates and subcontractors; and 5) use of patient health information (PHI) for marketing. HHS has said the final Rule will contain “significant modifications” to the current HIPAA Privacy Rule.
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