HIMSS, Other Groups Submit Comments on Meaningful Use Stage 3

Several health care organizations have submitted comments to the Office of  the National Coordinator for Health IT about the proposed requirements for Stage  3 of the meaningful use program.

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.

Summaries of the organizations’ comments are provided below.

American Academy of Family Physicians’ Letter

Last week, the American Academy of Family Physicians sent a letter requesting that ONC delay implementation of  Stage 3 until 2017.

Glen Stream, AAFP board chair, wrote, “We remain concerned that HHS is  attempting to raise the bar for what constitutes meaningful use before the  majority of physicians and hospitals are able to achieve the meaningful use  Stage 1 or 2 objectives” (Perna, Healthcare Informatics, 1/16).

Association of American Medical Colleges’ Comments

In its comments on Stage 3, the Association of American  Medical Colleges recommended that policymakers:

• Allow physicians and hospitals to avoid Medicare penalties as long as they  meet most meaningful use objectives;
• Not increase the number of requirements that depend upon the actions of  others, such as patients;
• Not increase thresholds for Stage 2 core measures in Stage 3 until there is  evidence that all types of providers can meet Stage 1 and 2 thresholds;
• Make meaningful use requirements flexible enough to work for all medical  specialties; and
• Place all newly proposed Stage 3 criteria in the optional menu, not in the  core set of requirements (Terry, InformationWeek, 1/16).

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s  Letter

On Monday, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society sent a letter to ONC, urging the agency to publish the final  rule for Stage 3 “at least 18 months before the beginning of the required  implementation period.”

The letter stated that such a strategy would give developers time to make  needed changes to their technology.

HIMSS also recommended that ONC focus more on helping providers take  advantage of the capabilities established in Stages 1 and 2 (Bowman, FierceEMR, 1/17).

HIMSS EHR Association’s Letter

Also on Monday, the HIMSS EHR Association sent a letter to ONC, stating that the agency should not  begin Stage 3 until at least three years after the start of Stage 2.

The association added that Stage 3 should focus on increasing  interoperability and more extensive use of Stage 2 capabilities (HIMSS EHR Association letter, 1/14).

Texas Medical Association’s Letter

The Texas Medical Association also submitted comments to ONC, requesting  that the agency accommodate physicians whose vendors go out of business or stop  supporting EHR systems already purchased by the doctors.

The association recommended that physicians in such situations be  allowed to meet “only 90 days of meaningful use during two transitional years,  with appropriate documentation of making the transition to a new, certified EHR”  (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 1/16).

Source: iHealthBeat

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