CMS and the ONC have announced that the next two phases of the EHR Incentive Programs will be extended in order to provide more time for professionals to adapt to the increased requirements and give rule makers a chance to examine the industry’s progress. In a blog post on HealthITBuzz, Acting National Coordinator Jacob Reider and Robert Tagalicod, Director of the Office of e-Health Standards and Services at CMS, announced the revised timeline, which extends Stage 2 through 2016 and starts Stage 3 in 2017 for providers who have completed at least two years of the prior level of EHR adoption.
Despite the proven ability of meaningful use to bring EHRs into hospitals and physician offices on a massive scale, providers and industry advocates alike have expressed trepidation at the short reporting periods and relentless progression of the EHR Incentive Programs, which have been pushing healthcare organizations to their financial and manpower limits. While 85% of hospitals and more than 60% of eligible professionals have successfully received a Medicare or Medicaid payment as of October 2013, many providers are worried about the dearth of Stage 2 certified EHRs and the slew of new requirements inherent in the second step.
“This new proposed timeline tracks ongoing conversations we at CMS and ONC have had with providers, consumers, health care associations, EHR developers, and other stakeholders in the health care industry,” write Reider and Tagalicod. “The goal of this change is two-fold: first, to allow CMS and ONC to focus efforts on the successful implementation of the enhanced patient engagement, interoperability and health information exchange requirements in Stage 2; and second, to utilize data from Stage 2 participation to inform policy decisions for Stage 3. The phased approach to program participation helps providers move from creating information in Stage 1, to exchanging health information in Stage 2, to focusing on improved outcomes in Stage 3. This approach has allowed us to support an aggressive yet smart transition for providers.”
Proposed rulemaking from CMS for Stage 3 is likely to be released in the fall of 2014, Tagalicod and Reider say, with the ONC’s proposal about the 2017 Edition of the ONC Standards and Certification Criteria to follow with an outline of further details for the new timeline. The final rule for Stage 3 is anticipated to be published in the first half of 2015.
The ONC’s new certification plan would allow criteria to be updated more frequently, allowing the certification process to progress more quickly and predictably. It would also ease the burden on cash-strapped providers to purchase and implement new EHR products after upgrading to the 2014 edition. “We expect to propose that the 2015 Edition would be voluntary in the sense that providers participating in the EHR Incentive Programs would NOT have to upgrade to 2015 Edition EHR technology and NO EHR technology developer who has certified its EHR technology to the 2014 Edition would need to recertify its products,” the post says. “Our intention would be for the 2014 Edition to remain the baseline certification criteria edition for meeting the Certified EHR Technology definition.”
