The Centers for Medicaid & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a rule offering flexibility to healthcare providers, large hospitals and critical access hospitals, allowing them to use 2011 edition electronic health records technology for the 2014 electronic health records reporting period.
Furthermore, providers can use the 2013 reporting definitions when filing in 2014 and they won’t face penalties for not moving on to phase two of Meaningful Use. The caveat is that doctors can only use older electronic health records software if they can prove they’re hitting the program goals by October 1.
A snag in the fabric occurs when you consider that providers will not be able to tell if they are meeting meaningful use requirements until mid-October, which means if you adopted a new electronic health records system this year, you probably won’t have your reports registered by the CMS in time for the October 1 deadline.
More specifically, you’re going to be affected if you enrolled in the Medicare Meaningful Use program this year and said you would meet the Stage 1 requirements while using 2011 software, or a combination of 2011 and 2014 editions. You will also be affected if you were paid under Medicaid Meaningful Use last year and met Stage 1 this year using 2011 software or a combination of 2011 and 2014 software.
The penalty? CMS will keep one percent of Medicare payments for 2015 for any provider missing the deadline.
Since this penalty is expected to affect a good number of providers, lawmakers are calling for some action to keep it from happening. Members of Congress from more than one state are asking the CMS to quickly and effectively look into the issue and that they should move the deadline back to a more appropriate time. Most providers, the Congressmen and women said, are acting in good faith to meet deadlines.
Lawmakers and stakeholders are also asking that CMS shorten the 2015 reporting period down to 90 days. Another change is being requested in the eligibility system with lawmakers simply asking for an alteration or a “fix.” They are also asking for a 30-day extension to any affected provider and that any physician community is notified of any changes.
No change is expected to come until a least October 1, which is when the rule becomes effective. A spokesperson for the CMS said they can’t fix a glitch in the system until the system is actually running, and that happens on October 1.
At OffSite Image Management, Inc., we’re keeping our eyes on all the news affecting electronic health records. We continue to bring solutions to the industry that are cost effective and financially in reach of any provider, regardless of how large or small they might be. We know there are issues with Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements and we’ve got solutions that can tackle them for you. For instance, Stage 2 requires radiologists to make a full electronic report to patients with 24 hours of their procedure. At OffSite, we’ve developed vendor neutral solutions that help you leap over reporting obstacles you’ve probably faced in the past. Call us today to find out more.