The Meaningful Use NPRM: An Overview and Path to EHR Incentive Payments for Your Organization and Clients, Part II: Drill Down on Key Issues 

Thursday, March 4, 2010
Co-sponsored by the Health Information and Technology; Hospitals and Health Systems; Physician Organizations; and Regulation, Accreditation, and Payment Practice Groups 

Description

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on how providers may qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments for electronic health records (EHRs) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The rule is considered revolutionary and will impact healthcare organizations beyond the IT department, finance, and legal to the highest level strategically across healthcare organizations. The Office of National Coordinator (ONC) also has issued an Interim Final Rule addressing EHR certification standards that vendors must meet in order for their EHR technology to be certified for meaningful use. Will your organization and your clients qualify for the incentive payments?

On March 4, we will continue our discussion of the Meaningful Use proposed rule with commentary from our panel on details of various provisions out for public comment. Gain an understanding of some of the key sections and controversies impacting hospitals, physicians, and vendors. After briefly reviewing Part I, we will discuss areas of public comment due by March 15, 2010:

• What changes do you need to make in your vendor contracting process as your organization or clients try to narrow the gap between the standards and objectives and the current reality?

• What are the eligibility definitions, and why might 27% of physicians not qualify?

• How may the incentive payments affect hospital-physician relationships, including physician alignment and employment strategies?

• What happens to hospital subsidies (and is the Stark EHR donation rule dead . . . or on life support)?

• Computerized Physician Order Entry—how must physicians enter orders, and will this become an expectation for medical staff membership?  

Learn more about Part I: Overview of the Meaningful Use and Certified EHR Rulemaking.

Presenters