On Tuesday, HHS sent to the Office of Management and Budget the final rule outlining standards and criteria for the certification of electronic health record systems under Stage 2 of the meaningful use program, Health Data Management reports (Goedert, Health Data Management, 8/1)
OMB review is one of the last steps before a rule is published in the Federal Register (Anderson, GovInfoSecurity, 8/1).
Background
Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
Earlier this year, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released a proposed rule on the standards and criteria for the certification of EHR systems under Stage 2 of the meaningful use program.
CMS also released a proposed rule outlining requirements for hospitals and health care providers seeking to attest to Stage 2 of the meaningful use program (iHealthBeat, 7/18). On July 16, CMS sent the Stage 2 final rule for health care providers to OMB for review.
Details on the Release
Federal officials previously said that the final versions of both Stage 2 rules would be released by the end of summer.
OMB typically takes between several weeks and many months to review rules (GovInfoSecurity, 8/1).
