What Next For Electronic Records After CMS Ruling?
Will the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' regulations for the "meaningful use" of electronic medical records lead to widespread adoption of the technology? Is the agency's final rule too restrictive, preventing doctors and hospitals from qualifying for government grants? Or is it too permissive, allowing providers to receive federal funds without making significant changes to how they process patient information?
When she introduced the regulations, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the new rule made the goal of widespread electronic record adoption a reality, and CMS said adjustments between the interim and final rules gave providers "greater flexibility" in how they use the technology. But stakeholders were cautious, with the American Medical Association withholding judgment until further review and the American Hospital Association warning that incentives may still be out of reach for many American hospitals.
July 21, 2010 11:24 AM
Better than draft, but challenges remain
By Cecil B. Wilson
The final rule for the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) is an improvement over previous drafts, but challenges still remain that will make it difficult for physicians to meet the requirements – especially physicians in solo and small practices. Making the requirements more flexible and accessible to physicians is crucial so that as many physicians as possible are able to adopt and use EHRs and qualify for the federal incentive programs.
The rule includes greater flexibility for physicians to pick and choose the meaningful use criteria that best fits their practice. It also removes measures that are not directly related to an EHR, such as checking patient eligibility for care and submitting insurance claims electronically, and limits the number of clinical quality measures physicians have to report to those with electronic specifications. These are all improvements the AMA worked for, but challenges do remain.
Among the concerns are questions about product availability, the tight timeline for adoption and the high overall number of measures ph...
The final rule for the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) is an improvement over previous drafts, but challenges still remain that will make it difficult for physicians to meet the requirements – especially physicians in solo and small practices. Making the requirements more flexible and accessible to physicians is crucial so that as many physicians as possible are able to adopt and use EHRs and qualify for the federal incentive programs.
The rule includes greater flexibility for physicians to pick and choose the meaningful use criteria that best fits their practice. It also removes measures that are not directly related to an EHR, such as checking patient eligibility for care and submitting insurance claims electronically, and limits the number of clinical quality measures physicians have to report to those with electronic specifications. These are all improvements the AMA worked for, but challenges do remain.
Among the concerns are questions about product availability, the tight timeline for adoption and the high overall number of measures physicians are required to meet. While the volume of measures was reduced overall, the final rule requires physicians to meet 20 measures in the first year which is still too high, especially for smaller practices that are new to the technology.
Currently there is no EHR on the market that does all the things required for physicians to successfully meet meaningful use criteria. CMS expects EHR systems that support meaningful use to become available this fall, giving physicians just a few months to purchase, implement and assess the usability of EHR technology before the January 1, 2011 start date of the incentive program. This is no small feat, considering it can take a year or more to purchase and implement an EHR system.
To help physicians better understand the meaningful use requirements and how to incorporate them into their practice, the AMA will be hosting a free webinar for physicians in the coming weeks.
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