Preliminary list of certified EHRs expected this fall
Posted 7/15/10
Medicare and Medi-Cal physicians who demonstrate “meaningful use” of certified electronic health records (EHRs) will qualify for incentive payments under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package.
Federal health officials recently established a temporary EHR certification program. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT will immediately begin accepting applications from organizations interested in certifying EHRs under this temporary program. It is expected that lists of certified EHR
products will be available in early to mid-fall.
For physicians, now is a good time to prepare for the transition to EHR. Until the first list of certified EHR systems is published, physicians can spend time assessing their practices’ EHR needs, mapping office work-flow, and researching potential vendors. Such preparation will enable practices to move quickly once vendors are certified. For more information, see Chapter 7 of the California Medical Association’s Best Practices toolkit, “Successful Preparation and Implementation of an Electronic Health Records System.” The toolkit is free to all physicians at www.cmanet.org/bestpractices.
While the temporary EHR certification program is in place, the federal government will be working on the rules and regulations for a permanent certification program. The permanent program will be more comprehensive and would begin in January 2012.
The way the rules governing the EHR certification program are constructed, an EHR system could potentially be certified under the temporary program, and not under the permanent one. It is also conceivable that a system could be certified to achieve stage 1 of meaningful use, but not stages 2 and 3. This was one of the issues that the California Medical Association (CMA ) raised when submitting comments on the proposed rule. Because of this possibility, CMA is recommending that physicians ask EHR vendors for meaningful use guarantees for all three stages of meaningful use. On July 13, the federal government is expected to release the final “meaningful use” guidelines, which detail the criteria that physicians will have to meet in order to qualify for incentive payments. CMA will be analyzing the 500+ page meaningful use definition and will prepare an analysis for members as soon as possible.
Join CMA for a webinar on July 27, 2010, to hear an overview of the new regulation and find out what physicians and their office staff need to know to qualify for the incentive payments. This webinar will be 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 pm on Tuesday, July 27, 2010. Registration is free to members and their staff. Nonmembers can register for $99. To register, visit www.cmanet.org/calendar.
Source: CMA Alert Issue No. 2187 | July 12, 2010
