CMS announces it will shorten meaningful use reporting to 90 days in 2015 January 30, 2015 Medi-Cal, Medicare CMS, EHR, Electronic Health Record, Meaningful Use, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 After repeated calls for changes from physician groups nationwide, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would issue new rules this spring to shorten the meaningful use reporting period in 2015 to 90 days for providers under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs. The new rule is intended to be “responsive to provider concerns about software implementation, information exchange readiness, and other related concerns in 2015,” wrote CMS Deputy Administrator and Chief Medical Officer Patrick Conway, M.D., in a blog published on the CMS website on Jan. 29. The anticipated changes are designed to “reduce the reporting burden on providers, while supporting the long term goals of the program.” In addition to shortening the EHR reporting period, CMS is considering proposals to modify other aspects of the program to reducing the complexity to lessen providers’ reporting burdens. The rules would also realign hospital EHR reporting periods to the calendar year to give hospitals more time to incorporate 2014 edition software into their workflows. The 90-day reporting rule for 2015 will apply to both Medicare and Medicaid eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals. “The AMA welcomes the announcement,” says American Medical Association president-elect, Steven J. Stack, M.D. “We hope the new rule will be issued expediently to provide the flexibility needed to allow more physicians to successfully participate in the meaningful use program and better align it with other quality reporting programs such as the Physician Quality Reporting System and the Value-base Modifier.” Comments are closed.
