FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202)690-6343
Secretary Sebelius Announces Final Rules To Support eMeaningful
Usef of Electronic Health Records
WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced final rules to help
improve Americansf health, increase safety and reduce health care
costs through expanded use of electronic health records (EHR).
gFor years, health policy leaders on both sides of the aisle have
urged adoption of electronic health records throughout our health
care system to improve quality of care and ultimately lower costs,h
Secretary Sebelius said. gToday, with the leadership of the
President and the Congress, we are making that goal a reality.h
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 gmeaningful useh 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 todayfs regulations marks the completion of
multiple steps laying the groundwork for the incentive payments
program. With gmeaningful useh 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 gmeaningful useh objectives, and a
concentrated five-year national initiative to adopt and use
electronic records in health care can begin.
gThis is a turning point for electronic health records in
America, and for improved quality and effectiveness in health care,h
said David Blumenthal, M.D., National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology. gIn delivering on the goals that
Congress called for, we have sought to provide the leadership and
coordination that are essential for a large, technology-based
enterprise. At the same time, we have sought and received
extensive input from the health care community, and we have drawn on
their experience and wisdom to produce objectives that are both
ambitious and achievable.h
Two companion final rules were announced today. One
regulation, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS), defines the minimum requirements that providers must
meet through their use of certified EHR technology in order to
qualify for the payments. The other rule, issued by the Office
of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC),
identifies the standards and certification criteria for the
certification of EHR technology, so eligible professionals and
hospitals may be assured that the systems they adopt are capable of
performing the required functions.
As much as $27 billion may be expended in incentive payments over
ten years. Eligible professionals may receive as much as
$44,000 under Medicare and $63,750 under Medicaid, and hospitals may
receive millions of dollars for implementation and meaningful use of
certified EHRs under both Medicare and Medicaid.
The CMS rule announced today makes final a proposed rule issued
on Jan, 13, 2010. The final rule includes modifications that
address stakeholder concerns while retaining the intent and
structure of the incentive programs. In particular, while the
proposed rule called on eligible professionals to meet 25
requirements (23 for hospitals) in their use of EHRs, the final
rules divides the requirements into a gcoreh group of requirements
that must be met, plus an additional gmenuh of procedures from which
providers may choose. This gtwo trackh approach ensures that
the most basic elements of meaningful EHR use will be met by all
providers qualifying for incentive payments, while at the same time
allowing latitude in other areas to reflect providersf needs and
their individual path to full EHR use.
gCMS received more than 2,000 comments on our proposed rule,h
said Marilyn Tavenner, Principal Deputy Administrator of CMS.
gMany comments were from those who will be most immediately affected
by EHR technology – health care providers and patients. We
carefully considered every comment and the final meaningful use
rules incorporate changes that are designed to make the requirements
achievable while meeting the goals of the HITECH Act.h
Requirements for meaningful use incentive payments will be
implemented over a multi-year period, phasing in additional
requirements that will raise the bar for performance on IT and
quality objectives in later years. The final CMS rule
specifies initial criteria that eligible professionals (EPs) and
eligible hospitals, including critical access hospitals (CAHs), must
meet. The rule also includes the formula for the calculation
of the incentive payment amounts; a schedule for payment adjustments
under Medicare for covered professional services and inpatient
hospital services provided by EPs, eligible hospitals and CAHs that
fail to demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology by
2015; and other program participation requirements.
Key changes in the final CMS rule include:
- Greater flexibility with respect to eligible professionals and
hospitals in meeting and reporting certain objectives for
demonstrating meaningful use. The final rule divides the
objectives into a gcoreh group of required objectives and a gmenu
seth of procedures from which providers may choose any five to
defer in 2011-2012. This gives providers latitude to pick
their own path toward full EHR implementation and meaningful use.
- An objective of providing condition-specific patient education
resources for both EPs and eligible hospitals and the objective of
recording advance directives for eligible hospitals, in line with
recommendations from the Health Information Technology Policy
Committee.
- A definition of a hospital-based EP as one who performs
substantially all of his or her services in an inpatient hospital
setting or emergency room only, which conforms to the
Continuing Extension Act of 2010
- CAHs within the definition of acute care hospital for the
purpose of incentive program eligibility under Medicaid.
CMSf and ONCfs final rules complement two other recently issued
HHS rules. On June 24, 2010, ONC published a final rule
establishing a temporary certification program for health
information technology. And on July 8, 2010 the Office for Civil
Rights announced a proposed rule that would strengthen and expand
privacy, security, and enforcement protections under the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
As part of this process, HHS is establishing a nationwide network
of Regional Extension Centers to assist providers in adopting and
using in a meaningful way certified EHR technology.
gHealth care is finally making the technology advances that other
sectors of our economy began to undertake years ago,h Dr. Blumenthal
said. gThese changes will be challenging for clinicians and
hospitals, but the time has come to act. Adoption and
meaningful use of EHRs will help providers deliver better and more
effective care, and the benefits for patients and providers alike
will grow rapidly over time.h
A CMS/ONC fact sheet on the rules is available at http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/
Technical fact sheets on CMSfs final rule are available at http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/
A technical fact sheet on ONCfs standards and certification
criteria final rule is available at http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification.
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Last revised: July 13,
2010
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