Join CMS for an Overview of eCQM Reporting and Promoting Interoperability Program Proposals for the FY 2019 IPPS Proposed Rule

This Outreach and Education webinar for participants in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and the Medicare and Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Programs (previously known as the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record [EHR] Incentive Programs) is scheduled for Wednesday, May 16, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The recent news from CMS is that the “Meaningful Use” program, which was part of a large government effort to promote the use of Electric Health Record (EHR) systems, is being renamed to the “Promoting Interoperability” program.

CMS Changes Name of the EHR Incentive Programs and Advancing Care Information to “Promoting Interoperability”

To continue their commitment to promoting and prioritizing interoperability of health care data, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is overhauling and streamlining the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs for hospitals as well as for the Advancing Care Information performance category of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which is one track of the Quality Payment Program.

On Oct. 6, 2015, CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released the final rules for Stage 3 of the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program and the 2015 Edition Health IT Certification Criteria. Through this rulemaking, the agencies hoped to simplify requirements and add some new flexibilities for providers.

Acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt and National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo in a blog post further explained plans for the upcoming changes to the meaningful use program, EHR Intelligence reports.

The 2015 Edition Final Test Method has been posted and can be accessed on the ONC Health IT Certification Program webpage.

The Final Test Method outlines the requirements for evaluating conformance of health IT Modules to the certification criteria defined in the ONC 2015 Edition Final Rule (45 CFR Part 170 Subpart II) published in the Federal Register on October 16, 2015.

CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT issued a request for information seeking input on policy options to strengthen the testing and certification of electronic health records used for reporting quality measures,

ONC issued a Federal Register notice to provide corrections (e.g., corrects cross-references and citation omissions) and clarifications for the final rule entitled “2015 Edition Health Information Technology (Health IT) Certification Criteria, 2015 Edition Base Electronic Health Record (EHR) Definition, and ONC Health IT Certification Program Modifications.” These corrections and clarifications will eliminate confusion and ambiguity, permitting stakeholders to better understand, implement, and comply with the final rule. The final rule and notice are effective January 14, 2016.

On Oct. 16, 2015, CMS published a long-awaited final rule that modifies the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program (aka meaningful use) requirements for 2015 through 2017 and establishes requirements for Stage 3, which starts in 2018. While CMS "finalizes" Stage 3 requirements within this final rule, the agency has signaled that these regulations are not set in stone. The public may submit feedback for the Stage 3 requirements until Dec. 15.

CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released the final rules for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program, modifications for 2015 through 2017 and the 2015 Edition Health IT Certification Criteria,

During a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Wednesday, committee chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) called for federal regulators to immediately implement proposed modifications to the meaningful use progr

Some electronic health record vendors are not following usability testing standards or meeting federal user-centered design rules, even though they have been certified as meeting meaningful use program requirements, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association,

The Medical Group Management Association urged CMS to extend the 2015 reporting period for the meaningful use program, citing concerns about the agency's delay in finalizing proposed program modifications for 2015 through 2017, FierceEMR reports (Durben Hirsch, FierceEMR, 9/1).

A proposed meaningful use rule could prompt more eligible professionals and hospitals to use modular software, as opposed to a "complete" electronic health record system, Modern Healthcare reports (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 8/21).

A group of health IT industry stakeholders sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell calling on CMS to quickly finalize proposed meaningful use modifications for 2015 through 2017,

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced that the panel will recommend that HHS delay Stage 3 of the meaningful use program, Modern Healthcare reports.

One of the great things about living near a “destination city” such as Washington DC is that friends and relatives often come to visit. This past Fourth of July week was a perfect example, as my sister-in-law and niece came to visit and to celebrate our country’s birthday in it's capital city.

My niece had also recently just turned 21, and was celebrating her birthday too. One thing that they both wanted to do was to go to a casino. Luckily about an hour or so north was Arundel Mills, an outlet shopping destination and (non-smoking) casino.

Health care providers' use of diabetes registries to meet meaningful use objectives helped to improve care quality and outcomes among patients with Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, EHR Intelligence reports (Gruessner, EHR Intelligence, 7/2).