The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that the public is welcome to submit comments to the recently released notices of proposed rulemaking. Comments regarding theStage 3 Meaningful Use proposed rule and/or the 2015 Edition EHR Technology Certificationproposed rules must be submitted by May 29 at the latest.
Eligible hospitals, eligible professionals, and critical access hospitals will all be affected by the final Stage 3 Meaningful Use ruling under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
CMS also released notices of proposed rulemaking that modify meaningful use requirements from 2015 to 2017. Healthcare providers, health IT vendors, and other stakeholders have until June 15 to submit comments regarding these proposed modifications. This proposed ruling will also be applicable to critical access hospitals, eligible professionals, and eligible hospitals.
The modifications to the meaningful use requirements includes changing the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs reporting period to a 90-day timeline in 2015 and 2016 that aligns with the calendar year. Additionally, reporting requirements that are redundant, duplicative, or unnecessary due to EHR advancements are removed in the proposed ruling. And finally, patient engagement objectives under the Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements are also revised.
The public is welcome to submit comments by electronic submission, direct mail, or courier. For electronic comment, access this site and follow the “Submit a Comment” instructions.
A key aspect of the Stage 3 Meaningful Use proposed rule is to expand EHR interoperability and develop effective health information exchange systems. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is especially focused on developing better health data exchange entities, which is evident through its Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap published earlier this year.
ONC reports that advancing interoperable exchange of medical data will enable providers to spend money more wisely, improve patient care, and ensure a healthier population. The results in a data brief from the American Hospital Association show that health information exchange is skyrocketing compared to previous years. For example, as many as 75 percent of hospitals reported last year to electronically exchange health data with other hospitals and ambulatory care providers.
This statistic has increased by a total of 23 percent since 2013 and rose an impressive 85 percent from 2008. In 2014, 64 percent of hospitals exchanged clinical care summaries with outside ambulatory care providers or hospitals. The exchange of patient medication history also grew to 58 percent. Another research finding from the data brief shows that the majority of hospitals in 42 states were exchanging care summaries.
The move away from fee-for-service payments toward value-based care will also impact the greater need for effective electronic exchange of healthcare information. When healthcare professionals are able to access patient data whenever they need it, coordinated care efforts are improved and patient outcomes should be positive, ONC explains. It seems that hospital and provider competition is falling by the wayside while more care coordination and teamwork are bringing together medical professionals.
Date: April 21, 2015