HIMSS releases statement on meaningful use stage 2 NPRM proposed rule

LAS VEGAS — The Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have published their proposed rule for Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program Stage 2 (Meaningful Use Stage 2); the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is expected to publish the associated Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria tomorrow.

Both CMS and ONC have hosted interactive town hall sessions, and more than 80 HIMSS12 workshops, symposia, and general education sessions have focused on meaningful use.

The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs have already had an enormous impact on EHR adoption rates. Forty-three states have started their Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs; over 190,000 Eligible Professionals (EPs) and Eligible Hospitals (EHs) have registered for the Medicare and/or Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs; and more than $3 billion has been paid in incentive payments to EPs, EHs, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) across the country.

New HIMSS Analytics data, reported in the December 2011 Summary of Meaningful Use Readiness, indicates that seven segments of hospitals show increased capability to achieve Stage 1 of meaningful use. The hospitals in these seven categories typically demonstrate IT adoption that outpaces their peers, a segment that also includes hospitals at Stage 6 or Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM).

To give providers and vendors adequate time to meet the new requirements, release of the proposed regulations at this juncture meets a recommendation of HIMSS and other organizations that the final rule be released at least 18 months prior to enactment.

HIMSS looks forward to engaging our members and colleagues in the development of HIMSS Board of Directors-approved responses to the proposed regulations that provide practical, real world observations and recommendations.

Source: HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society)