Registration begins Monday, January 3, 2011 - are you ready? The new EHR web page can help. CMS is happy to announce an updated, reorganized, and more user-friendly website for the EHR incentive programs, still located at www.CMS.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms<http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentiveprograms>. Highlights of this update are described later in this message.
We encourage providers to register for the Medicare and/or Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs as soon as possible. You can register before you have a certified EHR, and should do so even if you do not have an enrollment record in PECOS. § Hospitals: Hospitals that are eligible for EHR incentive payments under both Medicare and Medicaid should select "Both Medicare and Medicaid" during the registration process, even if they plan to apply only for a Medicaid EHR incentive payment by adopting, implementing, or upgrading certified EHR technology. Dually-eligible hospitals can then attest through CMS for their Medicare EHR incentive payment at a later date, if they so desire. It is important for a dually-eligible hospital to select "Both Medicare and Medicaid" from the start of registration in order to maintain this option. Hospitals that register only for the Medicaid program (or only the Medicare program) will not be able to manually change their registration (ie. change to "Both Medicare and Medicaid" or from one program to the other) after a payment is initiated and this may cause significant delays in receiving a Medicare EHR incentive payment. § Eligible Professionals: Eligible professionals eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs must choose which incentive program they wish to participate in when they register. Until 2015, an eligible professional may switch programs only once after the first incentive payment is initiated. Most eligible professionals will maximize their incentive payments by participating in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. § Registration: Learn how you can prepare at Registration<http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/20_RegistrationandAttestation.asp#TopOfPage>. This is also where you will find the link to register beginning Mon January 3. Information on when registration will be available for Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs in specific States is posted at Medicaid State Information<http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/40_MedicaidStateInfo.asp>. Highlights of the web update include: § Path to Payment<https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/10_PathtoPayment.asp#TopOfPage> - What steps must you take to receive an EHR incentive payment? Review this page to find out. § Meaningful Use<http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/30_Meaningful_Use.asp#TopOfPage> - What is "Meaningful Use?" What are the criteria for Meaningful Use? How do I meet the meaningful use requirements? Learn answers to these questions and more. Now includes Meaningful Use Objectives Specification Sheets for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. These bring together critical information on each objective to help eligible professionals and eligible hospitals/critical access hospitals understand what they need to do to demonstrate meaningful use successfully. § Educational Materials<https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/55_EducationalMaterials.asp#TopOfPage> - Want to learn about eligibility, payment, and meaningful use? See these educational products to learn more. § Frequently Asked Questions<https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/95_FAQ.asp#TopOfPage> - Have questions? See these responses to frequently asked questions on topics including eligibility, program timeline, and meaningful use. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December Flu Shot Reminder It's a Busy Time of Year. Make each office visit an opportunity to talk with your patients about the importance of getting the seasonal flu vaccination and a one-time pneumococcal vaccination. Remember, Medicare pays for these vaccinations for all beneficiaries with no co-pay or deductible. The seasonal flu and invasive pneumococcal disease kill thousands of people in the United States each year, most of them 65 years of age or older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that health care workers and caregivers be vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu. 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 influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care professionals and their staff, please visit the following CMS websites: http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/Flu_Products.pdf and http://www.cms.gov/AdultImmunizations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you.
