CMS Extends EHR Deadline

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

The Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services (CMS) issued their final ruling on EHRs on Friday, Sept. 5, 2014. Because of their decision, more providers will likely be able to meet Meaningful Use standards and qualify for incentives in 2014, thanks to a one-year extension in the deadline.

According to iHealthBeat, the CMS delays will give providers more latitude to participate in the program and meet certain objectives, including:

• Checks for drug interactions and allergies
• Electronic prescribing
• Providing patients with clinical summaries
• Reporting public health data and quality measurements

The Need For An Extension

The transition to meet Stage 2 Meaningful Use standards has been a difficult one. Only four Medicare eligible hospitals and professionals had met the standards as of the end of June. That’s in contrast the 4,050 hospitals and 264,538 providers that had achieved Stage 1.

CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner stated that, “We listened to stakeholder feedback and provided CEHRT flexibility for 2014 to help ensure providers can continue to participate in the EHR Incentive Programs forward. We were excited to see that there is overwhelming support for this change.”

Any interested hospitals or providers looking to earn incentives for adopting certified EHR technology would have been required to meet Meaningful Use standards by this year. However, they were facing a backlog of available technology and transition was slow. In response, CMS in May proposed that it would allow providers to continue using the 2011 edition of technology to comply with Stage 2 Meaningful Use standards until the end of 2014.

In turn, the change will push the start of Stage 3 one year to 2017.

Industry Reaction

According to FedScoop the change has been met with mixed reactions.

Hospitals and professionals overall are excited to see the changes in the rule. Conversely, many EHR interoperability advocates are concerned with effects of the move. The College Of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), in particular has voiced dissatisfaction.

“CHIME is deeply disappointed in the decision made by CMS and ONC to require 365-days of EHR reporting in 2015. This single provision has severely muted the positive impacts of this final rule. Further, it has all but ensured that industry struggles will continue well beyond 2014.” President and CEO Russell Branzell said in a statement.

Health IT Now has echoed similar displeasure, highlighting that multiple timing changes and delays could interrupt interoperability between doctors and hospitals, and that this interruption ultimately harms patients. They also held the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) responsible for capitalizing on the delays as an opportunity to better address the burdens that the requirements place on providers.