The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs will be impacted by the latest Stage 3 Meaningful Use proposed rule. The proposed ruling calls for stricter security measures for protecting patient health information, increasing the amount of electronic prescribing and computerized order entry conducted in hospitals and physician practices, and pushing forth patient engagement efforts.
“Transmitting the prescription electronically promotes efficiency and patient safety through reduced communication errors,” the Stage 3 Meaningful Use proposed ruling states. “It also allows the pharmacy or a third party to automatically compare the medication order to others they have received for the patient that works in conjunction with clinical decision support interventions enabled at the generation of the prescription.”
Currently, there is a comment period in which providers, vendors, and other stakeholders can offer their perspective on some of these meaningful use requirements and state which objectives are not achievable.
Once the final ruling for Stage 3 Meaningful Use requirements is established, however, providers who are unable to meet the objectives will need to file a hardship exemption and ensure there is evidence of their burden. Otherwise, these healthcare providers will receive a payment penalty from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
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The healthcare providers who do meet Stage 3 Meaningful Use objectives, on the other hand, will receive payment incentives from CMS. While some hospitals and practices have seen financial incentives from the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, others have been burdened with payment penalties as well as the major financial investment from implementing EHR systems, according to the JD Supra publication.
With around half of healthcare providers not meeting Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements, it remains to be seen whether the federal government will ease its restrictions and allow more time for struggling healthcare professionals to catch up.
Some are concerned over the set objectives in the Stage 3 Meaningful Use proposed ruling such as the goal of ensuring 25 percent of patients view and download their health information through portals.
Another major complication that CMS set forth is the requirement of all eligible hospitals and providers to attest to Stage 3 Meaningful Use by 2018 regardless of prior attainments. There will also be an optional period in 2017 to attest to Stage 3 Meaningful Use requirements. Those who feel incapable of meeting Stage 3 within the next three years should send comments to CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) before the May 29 deadline.
Others are concerned with the EHR reporting period beginning in 2017, which will require providers to report on a full calendar year. However, this system is meant to align the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs with other CMS initiatives such as the Physician Quality Reporting System.
Even with the many issues surrounding reaching Stage 3 Meaningful Use requirements, the proposed ruling aims to improve quality of care by expanding health information exchange, EHR interoperability, and patient engagement efforts.
Date: March 30, 2015