On February 29, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a State Medicaid Directors Letter (SMDL) that expands the scope of expenditures eligible for the 90 percent federal match for activities to promote the use of a health information exchange (HIE) and the adoption of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology by … Continue Reading
On January 22, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced the launch of a new, streamlined application process for providers and hospitals seeking a hardship exception from financial penalties for failing to meet meaningful use electronic health record requirements. According to CMS, “[t]he streamlined hardship applications reduce the amount of information that … Continue Reading
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a request for information (RFI) seeking public comment regarding areas of certification and testing of health IT as part of the Electronic Health Records (EHR) meaningful use program. Beginning in 2018, participants in the Stage 3 Meaningful Use EHR incentive program must electronically report … Continue Reading
On May 28, 2015, a panel from the American Medical Informatics Association (“AMIA”) published an eleven-page “Report of the AMIA EHR 2020 Task Force on the Status and Future Direction of EHRs.” Recognizing that current problems in EHR use “are complex” and that “[s]olving these problems will require regulatory stability, the development of an acceptable … Continue Reading
We recently posted on the Inside Privacy blog about an update to the Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Protected Health Information issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information (ONC). The updated guide incorporates the most current standards in accordance with the new final rules, issued in 2013, under the Health Information … Continue Reading
On January 29, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its intent to engage in rulemaking to update the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs beginning in 2015.… Continue Reading
On October 14, 2014, the American Medical Association (AMA) outlined its vision for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Meaningful Use (MU) Program in a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Despite the MU program’s achievements since its creation in 2009, … Continue Reading
On October 7, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reopened the submission period for hardship exception applications to allow eligible professionals and hospitals to avoid 2015 meaningful use penalties. Penalties for failing to demonstrate meaningful use of Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) were applied beginning October 1, 2014 for hospitals, and … Continue Reading
On March 10, 2014, CMS released its applications for Medicare professionals and hospitals seeking a hardship exemption for the Stage 2 meaningful use requirements. In these applications, CMS added “2014 EHR Vendor Issues” to the list of grounds warranting an exemption. The application for eligible professionals can be found here; the application for hospitals can … Continue Reading
Draft federal legislation to amend the Medicare physician payment formula also calls for nationwide interoperable EHRs by the end of 2017. … Continue Reading
On February 7, 2014, CMS announced a one-month delay of the deadline for eligible professionals to attest to their calendar year 2013 meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) for purposes of compliance with the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. This moves the deadline from February 28 to March 31, 2014. In addition, CMS announced it … Continue Reading
