AMA town hall to discuss meaningful use concerns On Tuesday, September 29, the American Medical Association (AMA) will hold a virtual town hall meeting to give physicians a chance to discuss concerns with poorly designed electronic health record (EHR) systems and the impact they have on patient care and government mandates. The U.S. government has spent some $25 billion on the program to promote a digital health infrastructure based on the power of EHRs to enhance patient care, improve productivity, and reduce costs. While 80 percent of physicians have adopted EHR technology, many physicians believe that the current ... September 28, 2015 General EHR, Electronic Health Record, Meaningful Use, American Medical Association 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA works to address problems posed by CURES 2.0 launch on July 1 The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that an update to the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) database would go live July 1, but with browser requirements that could potentially cut off access for thousands of prescribers and dispensers. According to the DOJ, CURES 2.0 would require users to have Internet Explorer version 11, Safari, Firefox or Chrome Internet browsers installed on their systems in order to access the database. In response to member concerns, the California Medical Association (CMA) met with DOJ to discuss the browser ... July 6, 2015 General Drug Prescribing, EHR, Prescription Drugs, CURES 0 0 Comment Read More »
CalHIPSPO receives Medi-Cal EHR incentive program award The California Department of Health Care Services has awarded the California Health Information Partnership & Services Organization (CalHIPSO), founded by the California Medical Association (CMA), the California Primary Care Association and the California Association of Public Health Hospitals and Health Systems, a Medi-Cal electronic health record (EHR) incentive program technical assistance contract for $15 million. Other organizations also given EHR technical assistance awards include the Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center, the CalOptima Regional Extension Center and Object Health. Over the next three years, these organizations will assist more than ... July 6, 2015 Medi-Cal Electronic Health Record, CalHIPSO, EHR 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA works to address problems posed by CURES 2.0 launch on June 30 The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that an update to the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES 2.0) database would go live June 30, but with browser requirements that could potentially cut off access for thousands of prescribers and dispensers. According to the DOJ, CURES 2.0 would require users to have Internet Explorer version 11, Firefox or Chrome Internet browsers installed on their systems in order to access the database. While it is possible for some users to simply update or switch to one of the supported ... June 26, 2015 General Drug Prescribing, EHR, Prescritpion Drugs, CURES 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS rule reduces Meaningful Use burdens; CMA advocates for more change On June 15, the California Medical Association (CMA) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on proposed rules modifying Stage 1 and Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria of the federal electronic health records (EHR) incentive programs. Under the federal EHR incentive programs, qualifying Medicare and Medi-Cal providers are eligible to receive incentive payments for adopting and demonstrating “Meaningful Use” of certified health information technology. The proposed rule aligns Stage 1 and Stage 2 Meaningful Use objectives and measures for 2015 through 2017 with proposed Stage 3 ... June 26, 2015 Managed Care, Medi-Cal, Medicare CMS, EHR, Electronic Health Record, HIT, Meaningful Use 0 0 Comment Read More »
DHCS extends meaningful use attestation deadlines for 2014 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule on September 4, 2014, that revised the meaningful use timeline. Under the rule, eligible professionals can use 2011 Edition certified EHR technology (CEHRT) or a combination of 2011 and 2014 Edition CEHRT for the 2014 EHR reporting period to demonstrate meaningful use. Eligible professionals who were scheduled to begin stage 2 in 2014 will not be required to begin stage 2 until 2015, if they could not fully implement 2014 Edition CEHRT due to delays in availability ... June 5, 2015 General, Medi-Cal EHR, Electronic Health Record, Meaningful Use, Medi-Cal, CMS 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA submits comments on Meaningful Use Stage 3 to CMS On May 29, the California Medical Association (CMA) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on the Meaningful Use Stage 3 notice of proposed rulemaking. Under the federal electronic health records (EHR) incentive programs, qualifying Medicare and Medi-Cal providers are eligible to receive incentive payments for adopting and demonstrating “meaningful use” of certified health information technology (HIT). The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on March 30, specifies the final stage of meaningful use criteria that eligible ... June 5, 2015 General Electronic Health Record, Health Information Technology, HIT, EHR, Meaningful Use 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS extends PQRS reporting deadline for some reporting methods The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the submission deadlines for two Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) reporting methods from February 28 to March 20 at 8 p.m., EST. The two affected reporting methods are: Direct electronic health record (EHR) submission or submission via a vendor using certified EHR technology Qualified clinical data registry (using the QRDA III format) reporting for PQRS and the clinical quality measure component of meaningful use for the EHR Incentive Program Submission timeframes for other PQRS reporting ... March 9, 2015 Medi-Cal, Medicare EHR, Physician Quality Reporting System, PQRS, CMS, Meaningful Use 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS extends meaningful use EHR attestation deadline to March 20 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the deadline for physicians to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program 2014 reporting year. While the original deadline was February 28, physicians now have until 11:59 p.m., EST, on March 20, 2015, to attest. CMS extended the deadline to allow providers extra time to submit their meaningful use data, but urges providers to begin attesting for 2014 as soon as they can. This extension also allows eligible professionals, who have not already used their ... March 2, 2015 Medi-Cal, Medicare EHR, Meaningful Use, Medi-Cal, Medicare, PQRS, CMS 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS announces it will work to reduce meaningful use reporting burden After repeated calls for changes from the American Medical Association (AMA), the California Medical Association (CMA) and other physician groups nationwide, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it would address the meaningful use issues raised by providers and make changes to the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program to “reduce the reporting burden, while supporting the long term goals of the program.” CMS said it would issue new rules governing the program this spring. Beginning January 1, 2015, Medicare physicians who have not ... February 5, 2015 Medi-Cal, Medicare CMS, EHR, Electronic Health Records, Meaningful Use, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
