Update October 7, 2015: AMA prevails again, with CMS making attestation for Stage 3 Meaningful Use optional in 2017.
As it stands now, CMS expects some eligible physicians in their EHR incentive program to meet Meaningful Use Stage 3 criteria starting in 2017.
The AMA and other medical groups, however, last week asked CMS to hold off for one year.
EHR interoperability needs more time, they say. Besides, if electronic health records do not interface and communicate seamlessly, it could impair the new Medicare payment reform known as MACRA, AMA President Steven J. Stack, MD, wrote in his letter to CMS. He adds that MACRA came along after the meaningful use program started.
“Pausing to reassess Stage 3 rules will not stop or delay progress with EHRs. On the contrary, we firmly believe a temporary period of reevaluation will help move the program forward and drive innovation and adoption,” Dr. Stack says.
More than 70% of 150 physicians surveyed believe they can get ready for MU Stage 3 by 2018. But only 38% believe the government did a ‘fair job’ crafting the Stage 3 proposed rule, according to a HealthCare Informatics/QuantiaMD survey.
The AMA says one more year to prepare for MU-3 could:
* Give doctors more time to adjust to the Stage 2 changes
* Give vendors and physicians time to catch up on current system changes, updates and workflow issues
* Give CMS more time to change MU goals for medical specialists
Many credit previous pressure from the AMA and other physician groups with getting CMS to change attestation for MU-2 from a full year to 90 days in 2015. So there’s some history here. But CMS asked the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review their proposed final rules for Stage 2 and Stage 3 this month. This means the final rules could be announced this Fall.
Although nothing is certain, the reporting period, timelines and structure of the Meaningful Use Stage 3 program could change, according to the OMB web site. Simplifying the framework of the program and coming up with a single meaningful use definition are also possible.
According to OMB: “Stage 3 will focus on improving health care outcomes and further advance interoperability.” Speaking of interoperability, the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) just set up a site for providers to report complaints about health IT interoperability (“information blocking”), usability, security and other issues. You can choose to report anonymously.
ONC also just announced that more than 80% of U.S. physicians now use electronic health record technology. The greatest percentage record patient demographics (86%), but more than 80% also e-prescribe, record clinical notes and view lab results using their EHR. Read more in the ONC data brief on EHR Adoption.
Do you think CMS will listen to the AMA’s advice? Or will they stick with their 2017 start date? Leave your prediction below.
