Health IT Law Blog : Health IT Law Blog : Post & Schell: Law Firm : HIT & Electronic Health Records

CMS launched a very useful Web site, http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentiveprograms, providing an overview of the Medicaid and Medicare incentive payment programs established by the HITECH Act.  The site provides up-to-date, detailed information and many important links and "fact sheets" about the incentive programs, including overviews of CMS's final rule on meaningful use, the scope of the incentives program, and a Frequently Asked Questions section.  

It is definitely worth saving or bookmarking this site, so that you can check back in easily for regular updates.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

On July 13, 2010, CMS issued the final rule defining "meaningful use" and establishing the parameters and requirements for eligible professionals, hospitals and other providers to receive incentive payments provided under the HITECH Act for widespread adoption of electronic health records.  According to CMS, the key changes included in the final rule (from the meaningful use NPRM published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2010) include:

• Greater flexibility with respect to eligible professionals and hospitals in meeting and reporting certain objectives for demonstrating meaningful use. The final rule divides the objectives into a “core” group of required objectives and a “menu set” of procedures from which providers may choose any five to defer in 2011-2012. This gives providers latitude to pick their own path toward full EHR implementation and meaningful use.
• An objective of providing condition-specific patient education resources for both EPs and eligible hospitals and the objective of recording advance directives for eligible hospitals, in line with recommendations from the Health Information Technology Policy Committee.
• A definition of a hospital-based EP as one who performs substantially all of his or her services in an inpatient hospital setting or emergency room only, which conforms to the Continuing Extension Act of 2010
• CAHs within the definition of acute care hospital for the purpose of incentive program eligibility under Medicaid.

You can view the PDF of the final rule on Meaningful Use by clicking here.

You can learn more about it from the HHS press release by clicking here.  Also, the New England Journal of Medicine published an excellent summary by Dr. Blumenthal of the changes included in the final rule; you can find this article by clicking here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As required in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week that it plans to integrate the quality reporting requirements for physicians' Medicare payments with reporting requirements for healthcare providers who achieve meaningful use under the HITECH Act.  Via Healthcare IT News:

Under the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), physicians who participate in Medicare can receive incentives for reporting various quality measures, a select number of which are aimed at those who want to report using EHRs.

Providers who become meaningful users of EHRs, as laid down by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will also be eligible for incentive payments. A final rule on that is expected soon.

CMS has requested public comment on how it should integrate the two programs, included within a proposed rule about changes in Medicare physician payments for 2011 CMS expects to publish the proposed rule July 13.

"In an effort to align PQRI with the EHR incentive program, we propose to include many ARRA core clinical quality measures in the PQRI program, to demonstrate meaningful use of EHR and quality of care furnished to individuals," the proposed rule says.

Meaningful use measures that physicians could use for PQRI reporting through electronic health records include such things as blood pressure measurement for hypertension, body mass index screening and prevention care follow up, and drugs to be avoided in the elderly, according to CMS.

You can find a copy of the proposed rule here.

"CMS to two align quality reporting programs," Healthcare IT News (June 29, 2010).

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) will announce two regulations that lay a foundation for improving quality, efficiency, and safety through meaningful use of electronic health record (EHR) technology.

The regulations will help implement the EHR incentive programs enacted under the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health (HITECH) Act, which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Public comments on both regulations are encouraged.

Join today’s call; details are listed below:

WHO:
--David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, national coordinator for health information technology
--Jonathan Blum, director, Center for Medicare Management
--Cindy Mann, director, Center for Medicaid and State Operations

WHAT:
Briefing for HITECH Partners and Stakeholders – Providers, HIT Industry Organizations

WHEN:
Today, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009, 5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time

WHERE:
Toll-Free Dial: (800) 837-1935
Conference ID: 49047605
Pass Code: HITECH

Stay tuned for more updates and information on the HIMSS Meaningful Use Web site at http://bit.ly/5IdkDe . HIMSS will be posting a statement tomorrow.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has delegated the responsibility for administration and enforcement of the HIPAA Security Rule to the Office of Civil Rights, a division of HHS.  Previously, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), another HHS division, was responsible for Security Rule administration, while OCR was tasked with administering and enforcing the HIPAA Privacy Rule.  Effective immediately, OCR is responsible for administering both Security  Rule and Privacy Rule, as well as all HIT privacy and security related provisions in the HITECH Act.

According to HHS, this move "will eliminate duplication and increase efficiencies in how the department ensures that Americans’ health information privacy is protected."  This transfer of authority is not meant to create any disruption of current procedures.  Consumers may continue to submit HIPAA security complaints using the on-line resource – the Administrative Simplification Enforcement Tool (ASET) -- which can be accessed here. New security complaints may also be sent to the Office for Civil Rights. 

You can find the Federal Register notice here.

"HHS Delegates Authority for the HIPAA Security Rule to Office for Civil Rights," HHS Press Release (August 3, 2009).

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link