CMS -- Electronic Health Record Standards

Today, CMS and ONC jointly announce their final rules for both electronic health record standards for certification and the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs, including the definition of meaningful use.



Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, eligible health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt certified EHR technology and use it to achieve specified objectives. One of the two regulations announced today defines the “meaningful use” objectives that providers must meet to qualify for the bonus payments, and the other regulation identifies the technical capabilities required for certified EHR technology.



Announcement of today’s regulations marks the completion of multiple steps laying the groundwork for the incentive payments program. With “meaningful use” definitions in place, EHR system vendors can ensure that their systems deliver the required capabilities, providers can be assured that the system they acquire will support achievement of “meaningful use” objectives, and a concentrated five-year national initiative to adopt and use electronic records in health care can begin.



To read the Press Release issued today (7/13) click here: http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp or http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/2010.html



Also CMS Issued Fact Sheets (7/13) with additional details at: http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp



To learn more about the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs, visit the CMS-dedicated website to this program, http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/ . Here you’ll find information about eligibility, requirements, upcoming events and more. To learn more about electronic health records and certification standards, visit the HHS/ONC-website at http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt . This website is the premier place to learn about the benefits of using EHR technology in a meaningful way, local resources to assist in EHR adoption and more.



And, be sure to attend our upcoming joint CMS & ONC training on the EHR incentive programs and certification on July 22 at 2:oo pm EST. More information can be found on the CMS website: http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/.



Links to Rules via Federal Register:

http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17207_PI.pdf

http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17210_PI.pdf