As 2015 creeps closer, health care providers are working to meet the rigid requirements of Meaningful Use as established by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If they fail to adhere to specific guidelines, doctors and their practices could face financial penalties.
The American Medical Association believes that these Meaningful Use punishments should be abolished, as they place significant pressure on physicians who already operate under heavy time constraints. FierceEMR reported that the AMA cited concerns about lacking interoperability and complex regulations that limit the usability of electronic health records.
AMA wants to ease MU regulations
During a Nov. 10 interim meeting, the organization drafted a policy that highlighted the mere 2 percent of eligible physicians who have attested to Stage 2 Meaningful Use in 2014. The AMA believes that interoperability is integral to ensuring that providers avoid financial discipline from CMS.
"The whole point of the Meaningful Use incentive program was to allow for the secure exchange of information across settings and providers, and right now that type of sharing and coordination is not happening on a wide scale for reasons outside physicians' control," Steven Stack, AMA president-elect, said in a statement. "Physicians want to improve the quality of care and usable, interoperable electronic health records are a pathway to achieving that goal."
Starting in 2015, physicians who have not met Meaningful Use requirements are subject to reimbursement penalties. However, providers are free to file hardship exemptions and qualify for immunity from the fees. Yet, these exceptions require practices that struggle with using certified EHR software to submit their own evidence, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is responsible for determining the usefulness of these products.
ONC rejects EHR certification claims
The Health IT Certification Program at the ONC has denied claims that the program is set to close its doors in the coming months. Many of these issues were results of the recent closing of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, an ONC-authorized testing body for EHRs and other products.
EHR Intelligence reported that the shuttering of the CCHIT raised concerns about the future of the EHR certification program. If providers are unable to use new products that are cleared by the federal government, they would have significant issues attesting to any of the Meaningful Use stages. Therefore, it is important that the ONC allows for feedback from industry stakeholders for the purpose of relevant rulemaking.
With Meaningful Use giving providers headaches and the ONC fighting for interoperability, the upcoming year could be troublesome for the health care industry.
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Ronny Bachrach
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