The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the long-awaited definition of "meaningful use" of healthcare information technology, providing new guidance for providers and hospitals to qualify for billions of dollars in federal incentives.
The announcement, in the form of agency rulemaking, marks a critical advance in the stimulus package passed last February as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The bottom line: Incentives for providers and hospitals using the technology will range from $14.1 billion on the low end to $27.3 billion on the high end over the next five years. The actual amount will depend on how many providers opt out of participating in the voluntary program, and of those who opt-in, how many will qualify for all payments.
ARRA provides federal incentives of up to $44,000 per physician over five years. Hospitals can qualify for a minimum of $2 million a year. However, the biggest benefits will come in the first years, meaning that the faster providers can show meaningful use, the more lucrative the incentive.
The first incentives will be paid in 2011 based on 2010 performance. By 2015, physicians who are not using certified EHRs could be penalized by Medicare and Medicaid.
A proposed rule issued by CMS outlines proposed provisions governing the EHR incentive programs, including defining the central concept of “meaningful use” of EHR technology. An interim final regulation (IFR) issued by the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT sets initial standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for EHR technology. Both regulations are now open to public comment.
For providers, who have feared that "meaningful use" of electronic health records would be unreachable in 2010, CMS recommends phasing the criteria in three stages.
The Stage 1 meaningful use criteria focuses on electronically capturing health information in a coded format, using that information to track key clinical conditions and communicating that information for care coordination purposes.
CMS officials are recommending that Stage 2 criteria be proposed by the end of 2011 and the Stage 3 definition be proposed by the end of 2013.
The economic stimulus package has allotted $17.2 billion to reward Medicare and Medicaid providers who can prove they're using certified healthcare IT "in a meaningful way." The incentives are scheduled to take effect starting Oct. 1, 2011. Experts say providers should not waste time getting prepared because there is a shortage of change management experts available to help.
The regulations are aimed at implementing the EHR incentive programs enacted under the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health (HITECH) Act, which was part of ARRA, according to CMS.