The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) encourage
public comment on two regulations issued on 12/30/2009 that lay a
foundation for improving quality, efficiency and safety through
meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.
The full press release is included below for your convenience:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: HHS Press Office
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
(202) 690-6343
CMS and ONC Issue Regulations Proposing a Definition of 'Meaningful Use'
and Setting Standards for Electronic Health Record Incentive Program
Public Encouraged to Comment on New Regulations
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) encourage
public comment on two regulations issued today that lay a foundation for
improving quality, efficiency and safety through meaningful use of
certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. The regulations
will help implement the EHR incentive programs enacted under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).
A proposed rule issued by CMS outlines proposed provisions governing the
EHR incentive programs, including defining the central concept of
"meaningful use" of EHR technology. An interim final regulation (IFR)
issued by ONC sets initial standards, implementation specifications, and
certification criteria for EHR technology. Both regulations are open to
public comment.
"Widespread adoption of electronic health records holds great promise
for improving health care quality, efficiency, and patient safety,"
said, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David
Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P. "The Recovery Act's financial incentives
demonstrate Congress' and the Administration's commitment to help
providers adopt and make meaningful use of EHR technology so they can
give better care and their patients' experience of care will improve.
Over time, we believe the EHR incentive program under Medicare and
Medicaid will accelerate and facilitate health information technology
adoption by more individual providers and organizations throughout the
health care system."
"These regulations are closely linked," said Charlene Frizzera, CMS
Acting Administrator. "CMS's proposed regulation would define and
specify how to demonstrate 'meaningful use' of EHR technology, which is
a prerequisite for receiving the Medicare incentive payments. Our rule
also outlines the proposed payment methodologies for the Medicare and
Medicaid EHR incentive programs. ONC's regulation sets forth the
standards and specifications that will enhance the interoperability,
functionality, utility and security of health information technology."
CMS and ONC worked closely to develop the two rules and received input
from hundreds of technical subject matters experts, health care
providers, and other key stakeholders. Numerous public meetings to
solicit public comment were held by three Federal advisory committees:
the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), the
Health IT Policy Committee (HITPC), and the Health IT Standards
Committee (HITSC). HITSC presented its final recommendations to the
National Coordinator in August 2009. These recommendations, along with
all other input were considered to help inform the development of the
regulations announced today.
The IFR issued by ONC describes the standards that must be met by
certified EHR technology to exchange healthcare information among
providers and between providers and patients. This initial set of
standards begins to define a common language to ensure accurate and
secure health information exchange across different EHR systems. The
IFR describes standard formats for clinical summaries and prescriptions;
standard terms to describe clinical problems, procedures, laboratory
tests, medications and allergies; and standards for the secure
transportation of this information using the Internet.
The IFR calls for the industry to standardize the way in which EHR
information is exchanged between organizations, and sets forth criteria
required for an EHR technology to be certified. These standards will
support meaningful use and data exchange among providers who must use
certified EHR technology to qualify for the Medicare and Medicaid
incentives.
Under the statute, HHS is required to adopt an initial set of standards
for EHR technology by Dec. 31, 2009. The IFR will go into effect 30
days after publication, with an opportunity for public comment and
refinement over the next 60 days. A final rule will be issued in 2010.
"We strongly encourage stakeholders to provide comments on these
standards and specifications," Dr. Blumenthal said.
The Recovery Act established programs to provide incentive payments to
eligible professionals and eligible hospitals participating in Medicare
and Medicaid that adopt and make "meaningful use" of certified EHR
technology. Incentive payments may begin as soon as October 2010 to
eligible hospitals. Incentive payments to other eligible providers may
begin in January 2011.
The proposed rule would define the term "meaningful EHR user" as an
eligible professional or eligible hospital that, during the specified
reporting period, demonstrates meaningful use of certified EHR
technology in a form and manner consistent with certain objectives and
measures presented in the regulation. These objectives and measures
would include use of certified EHR technology in a manner that improves
quality, safety, and efficiency of health care delivery, reduces health
care disparities, engages patients and families, improves care
coordination, improves population and public health, and ensures
adequate privacy and security protections for personal health
information.
The proposed rule would define meaningful use for the Medicare EHR
incentive programs. It proposes one definition that would apply to
eligible professionals participating in the Medicare fee-for-service and
the Medicare Advantage EHR incentive programs as well as a proposed
definition that would apply to eligible hospitals and critical access
hospitals. These definitions also would serve as the minimum standard
for eligible professionals and eligible hospitals participating in the
Medicaid EHR incentive program. The rule proposes that states could
request CMS approval to implement additional meaningful use measures, as
appropriate, but could not request approval of fewer or less rigorous
meaningful use measures than required by the rule.
This rule proposes a phased approach to implement the proposed
requirements for demonstrating meaningful use. This approach would
initially establish reasonable criteria for meaningful use based on
currently available technological capabilities and providers' practice
experience. CMS will establish stricter and more extensive criteria for
demonstrating meaningful use over time, as anticipated developments in
technology and providers' capabilities occur.
CMS provides a 60-day comment period on the proposed rule. "The
definition and requirements for demonstrating meaningful use of EHR
technology are proposals. CMS welcomes and will give serious
consideration to comments that improve our proposal while achieving the
goals Congress established for the EHR incentive programs," Frizzera
said.
The CMS proposed rule and fact sheets may be viewed at
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Recovery/11_HealthIT.asp
ONC's interim final rule may be viewed at
http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification. In early 2010 ONC
intends to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking related to the
certification of health information technology
Additional Website resources:
The Recovery Act Health IT Page is:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Recovery/11_HealthIT.asp.
DIRECT Link to CMS Regulation:
http://www.federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2009-31217_PI.pdf.
A copy of the ONC Regulation is available at:
http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification.
The HHS Press Release is available at:
https://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp.
The CMS Fact Sheets are available at:
https://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp.
________________________________________________________________________
______
Flu Season is Here!
Annual outbreaks of the seasonal flu usually occur from late fall to
early spring. Typically, 5 to 20 percent of Americans get the seasonal
flu, resulting in approximately 36,000 flu-related deaths.[1]
If you have Medicare patients who haven't yet received their flu shot,
you can help them reduce their risk of contracting the seasonal flu by
recommending an annual seasonal influenza vaccination. Medicare
provides coverage of the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration.
And don't forget to immunize yourself and your staff. Protect yourself,
your staff, your patients, and your family and friends.
Remember - Influenza vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B
benefits. Note that influenza vaccine is NOT a Part D covered drug.
For information about Medicare's coverage of the seasonal influenza
virus vaccine and its administration as well as related educational
resources for health care professionals and their staff, please go to
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/flu_products.pdf on the CMS
website. You will find a variety of resources that explain Medicare
coverage and claims submission policies related to the seasonal
influenza vaccine.
For information on Medicare policies related to H1N1 influenza, please
go to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/H1N1 on the CMS website.
--------------------------------------
[1] Flu.gov. 2009. About the Flu [online]. Washington DC: The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 2009 [cited 30 November 2009].
Available from the World Wide Web:
(http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/about/index.htm
<http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/about/index.html> )
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________________________________
[1] Flu.gov. 2009. About the Flu [online]. Washington DC: The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 2009 [cited 30 November 2009].
Available from the World Wide Web:
(http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/about/index.htm
<http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/about/index.html> )
