The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently
announced that it will delay setting the criteria and rules on stage 3
meaningful use of electronic health records until 2014.
At the HIMSS 2013 conference held earlier in March 2013 in New Orleans, Marilyn Tavenner, Acting CMS Administrator, announced that the rulemaking process for Stage 3 won't take place in 2013 as was the plan earlier. The agency would instead wait and measure the success of the existing stages and review any problems. The agency would also review the feedback received from healthcare professionals and physicians.
Tavenner said that CMS plans to use this delay to concentrate on accomplishing increased interoperability across EHR systems and enhancing the exchange of health information.
This has been proposed by the AMA (American Medical Association) and organized medicine. They suggested that the CMS should first review how stage 1 and stage 2 are rolling out before setting the rules and criteria for stage 3, which is supposed to be implemented in the year 2016.
AMA has expressed its appreciation over the CMS’ decision, and says that it had submitted formal comments on Stage 3 earlier in 2013, recommending that CMS should review the earlier stages of the meaningful use program and resolve any present problems before setting down new rules for the next stage.
"[I]t is a serious mistake to keep adding stages and requirements to the meaningful use program without evaluating Stage 1 of the program," AMA CEO and Executive Vice President James L. Madara, MD, wrote in the letter. "[A]n evaluation should occur between each stage of the meaningful use program and prior to finalizing the requirements for the next stage.
"It makes no sense to add stages and requirements to a program when even savvy EHR users and specialists are having difficulty meeting the Stage 1 measures."
Background:
The three stages of meaningful use program that had been decided are:
Stage 1: This stage started in the year 2011 and is the beginning point for all providers. “Meaningful use” includes transferring data to EHRs and being able to share info.
Stage 2: The rules for this stage have already been decided and it shall be implemented in the year 2014. “Meaningful use” will include standards such as allowing the patients to gain access to their health information and also allowing exchange of electronic health information between healthcare providers.
Stage 3: This stage is expected to be implemented in 2016. “Meaningful use” will comprise of showing that the quality of healthcare has been improved.
At the HIMSS 2013 conference held earlier in March 2013 in New Orleans, Marilyn Tavenner, Acting CMS Administrator, announced that the rulemaking process for Stage 3 won't take place in 2013 as was the plan earlier. The agency would instead wait and measure the success of the existing stages and review any problems. The agency would also review the feedback received from healthcare professionals and physicians.
Tavenner said that CMS plans to use this delay to concentrate on accomplishing increased interoperability across EHR systems and enhancing the exchange of health information.
This has been proposed by the AMA (American Medical Association) and organized medicine. They suggested that the CMS should first review how stage 1 and stage 2 are rolling out before setting the rules and criteria for stage 3, which is supposed to be implemented in the year 2016.
AMA has expressed its appreciation over the CMS’ decision, and says that it had submitted formal comments on Stage 3 earlier in 2013, recommending that CMS should review the earlier stages of the meaningful use program and resolve any present problems before setting down new rules for the next stage.
"[I]t is a serious mistake to keep adding stages and requirements to the meaningful use program without evaluating Stage 1 of the program," AMA CEO and Executive Vice President James L. Madara, MD, wrote in the letter. "[A]n evaluation should occur between each stage of the meaningful use program and prior to finalizing the requirements for the next stage.
"It makes no sense to add stages and requirements to a program when even savvy EHR users and specialists are having difficulty meeting the Stage 1 measures."
Background:
The three stages of meaningful use program that had been decided are:
Stage 1: This stage started in the year 2011 and is the beginning point for all providers. “Meaningful use” includes transferring data to EHRs and being able to share info.
Stage 2: The rules for this stage have already been decided and it shall be implemented in the year 2014. “Meaningful use” will include standards such as allowing the patients to gain access to their health information and also allowing exchange of electronic health information between healthcare providers.
Stage 3: This stage is expected to be implemented in 2016. “Meaningful use” will comprise of showing that the quality of healthcare has been improved.
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