| Here is an UPDATE for you: Chiropractors and HHS CMS Electronic Health Records Incentive Program
Final Rule was posted July 28, 2010 Edie Ruark Hofmann, Compliance Expert and Office Management Coach
Many chiropractors have asked me to comment on the Medicare & Medicaid
EHR Incentive Program. The final ruling was posted on July 28, 2010. Although no one knows for sure exactly how
this is going to work until the process actually begins. I am going to try to make this as easy to understand as possible.
Yes, chiropractors are considered an eligible professional (EP) and therefore qualified to receive the incentive payments
as long as they follow All of the rules. Background
Get ready for a mind twister. Hope you can keep all of these acronyms straight. The Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS) Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive program is all part of the Health Information Technology
for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) programs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA). It was established to promote the adoption and “meaningful use” of health information technology
(HIT) and electronic health records (EHRs). These incentive payments are part of a broader effort under the HITECH Act
to accelerate the adoption of HIT and utilization of qualified EHRs. Did you get that? Keep these acronym definitions close they will be used throughout this article and you will
hear them more and more from CMS and in other articles. It does not get any easier, but hopefully I can distill it down
for you. The final ruling is 276 pages. There is much to sift through but these are the highlights. 276 pages cannot
be distilled completely into a few pages and I am not going to try it get it all into this article. Believe me, this
is only the beginning and much more will follow as it all moves forward. My goal is only to give you enough information
to make an initial decision concerning participation. Most doctors I know are mostly interested in how they can get
all or at least part of the $44,000.00 they were told was available to each EP. After finding out exactly what it is
going to take, you may or may not be so interested. Chiropractors
Are Eligible. Do You Want to Participate? ….the
bullet points!
* This is considered a voluntary
program; however, if you are not compliant by 2015 adjustments to your Medicare payments will be reduced 1% each year and
continue to be reduced by as much as 5 percent by 2018. *
Incentive payments are 75% of your allowed charges not to exceed the maximum amount specified by CMS. * You must demonstrate “meaningful use” of the health information
technology (HIT). To better understand the term “meaningful use”. Think of it as MEANINGFULLY USING the
technology you had to purchase. * You as an Eligible
Professionals (EPs) are required to demonstrate “meaningful use” of 15 of 15 Core Set Objectives, 5 or 10 Menu
Set Objectives and 3 of 38 Clinical Quality Measures. BUT…
* You are NOT required to demonstrate “meaningful use” of any Core Sets or Menu Sets that
are outside your scope of practice. i.e. chiropractors are not required to demonstrate e-prescriptions. You must attest
to your “exclusion” of a specific Core Set objective or Menu Set objective. You will then be required to
meet all remaining Core Sets and a percentage of Menu Sets reduction based on number of exclusions. * You are required to “attest” that you have met the criteria
and maintain the documentation for 10 years for audit. You will be required to go online and answer questions of your compliance
outcomes followed by your attestation that all information is true. Attesting to this will be the same as an electronic
signature on your tax returns. * You are required
to have certified Health Information Technology (software). A list will be posted on ONC website by 2011.
* The requirements in the Final Rule are only for years 2011 and
2012 (Stage One). Stage Two and Stage Three will be determined later. To read the entire article the explains everything in
detail and also includes the lists and tables of Core Set Objectives, Menu Set Objectives, Clinical Quality Measure.
The entire article is published at www.ICCOM.org
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