Meaningful Use

Editors Picks

Will Regulators Extend EHR Donation Rule?

David Raths
HIMSS and other industry associations have started reminding regulators that it would be a good idea to postpone or eliminate this sunset to allow more health systems to donate health IT.

Top Stories

CMS: $14.6B in Meaningful Use Incentives Paid

June 6, 2013     Rajiv Leventhal
news
As of the end of April, more than $14.6 billion in EHR Incentive Program payments have been paid out by the federal government to eligible providers and hospitals in the program, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Washington Debrief: Direct Guidance Released for Stage 2 Assistance

June 4, 2013     Jeff Smith, Director of Public Policy at CHIME
article
Recently, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) released programmatic guidance for State HIE grantees who act as Health Information Service Providers (HISPs) for providers to engage in Direct, point-to-point, exchange.

Stage 2 and Patient Portals: No Time to Pause

June 3, 2013     Carl Dolezal, Senior Manager, Aspen Advisors
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Did you finish the last year attesting for meaningful use Stage 1? If you did, congratulations! You may be thinking you just made it, you’re aware that Stage 2 is waiting for you, and you’re thankful to have preparation time. Before you rest too much, remember that the Stage 2 clock is ticking. It requires that a patient portal be in place and establishes an active role for patients to meet required thresholds.

Take Our Poll: What Do You Think of the Stage 3 Preliminary Rule Release Delay?

March 12, 2013     Mark Hagland
news
On Wednesday, March 6, in an appearance at the HIMSS Conference in New Orleans, Marilyn Tavenner, R.N. , acting administrator of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed during a presentation at the conference that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) would delay the release of a preliminary rule for Stage 3 of meaningful use under HITECH until after the end of calendar year 2013, in order for CMS and ONC officials to be able to “digest” input and feedback from healthcare leaders on lessons being learned in Stage 2 of MU. What do you think? Please take our poll!

Will Regulators Extend EHR Donation Rule?

March 1, 2013     David Raths
blog
HIMSS and other industry associations have started reminding regulators that it would be a good idea to postpone or eliminate this sunset to allow more health systems to donate health IT.

Poll

What do you think of the CMS/ONC decision to delay the release of the MU Stage 3 preliminary rule until after the end of 2013?:

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Another Day, Another NY Times Story Critical of EHRs

February 20, 2013     David Raths
blog
The latest negative article finds that sales are up for EHR vendors who lobbied for the incentives, and it implies that increasing those sales and the salaries of its executives was the real purpose of the exercise.

Washington Debrief: Federal Policy Committee Mulls Stage 3 Comments

February 11, 2013     Jeff Smith, Assistant Director of Advocacy at CHIME
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Direction The federal Health IT Policy Committee met for their monthly meeting this past week in Washington and Meaningful Use Stage 3 was back on the agenda. In under a month, ONC staff culled through more than 500 comments submitted to the Policy Committee that underscored concerns regarding the timing of Stage 3, the growing list of competing priorities for providers and a feeling that more interoperability limitations needed to be addressed.

MU Stage 3: Back to the Drawing Board

February 8, 2013     David Raths
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After hearing public comment on Feb. 6 that its proposals for Stage 3 may overwhelm vendors and providers still grappling with Stages 1 and 2, the Health IT Policy Committee’s Meaningful Use Work Group went back to the drawing board Feb. 8 to consider alternative approaches.

Washington Debrief: Meaningful Use Stage 3 Response, ONC Town Hall Held

January 22, 2013     Jeff Smith, Assistant Director of Advocacy at CHIME
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The Federal Health IT Policy Committee has been working for months on developing measures and objectives for Stage 3 Meaningful Use and in November they shared those thoughts with the wider health IT community of stakeholders for input. Recently, CHIME submitted a response to the HIT Policy Committee, urging caution about the assumed pace and practicality of those Stage 3 measures.

AAFP: Delay Meaningful Use Stage 3

January 16, 2013     Gabriel Perna
news
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is calling on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), to delay implementation of meaningful use Stage 3 until 2017, the association said in a comment letter to ONC National Coordinator Farzad Mostashari, M.D.

Washington Debrief: Meaningful Use Payments Edge Across $10B Line in 2012

January 15, 2013     Jeff Smith, Assistant Director of Advocacy at CHIME
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According to officials at CMS, December was the single largest monthly payout of EHR incentives in the program’s history. Roughly $1.2 billion went to eligible hospitals and eligible physicians in December, bringing the total estimated payout to $10.3 billion. The bulk of the payments went to EHs, who received $1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. EPs received $175 million in Medicare payments and $80 million in Medicaid payments.

CHIME Comments on Proposed Meaningful Use Stage 3 Requirements

January 14, 2013     Mark Hagland
news
On Jan. 14, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) submitted formal comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in response to the release of the Health IT Policy Committee’s proposal for Stage 3 of meaningful use.
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