CMS Issues Proposed Rule on EHR Reporting Requirements

A recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule would ease EHR reporting requirements over the next two years. The proposed regulation, which covers the 2018 Medicare payments for hospital inpatient services, relaxes data reporting requirements for Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs) that are part of the EHR Incentive program. In 2017, eligible hospitals demonstrating meaningful use for the first time would need to submit two self-selected quarters of CQM data and report at least six selected CQMs, down from eight. CMS offered similar flexibility when it released its Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System Rule in November 2016. Meaningful Use For the EHR Incentive Program, CMS has proposed that the reporting period in CY 2017 will be two self-selected quarters. For CY 2018 the reporting period will be the first three quarters of 2018. For both CYs 2017 and 2018, hospitals must report on at least six Clinical Quality Measures. In CY 2018, for those hospitals only participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, electronic CQM submission will be available for the two months following the close of the year ending on February 28, 2019. For eligible professionals reporting electronically, CMS proposes to modify the EHR Incentive Program reporting period from a full year to a minimum of a continuous 90-day period during the year. The Proposed Rule also aligns CQMs with the measures available under the Merit-based Incentive Payment Sy...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs