Netgain

With the CMS Final Rule for Meaningful Use about to be released, the question you need to be asking yourself is, are you ready? It has been easy to be in the mindset of taking a break from the craziness of the Meaningful Use Program but the time is drawing near for the final rule to be published and the reporting period to start if you haven’t already.

The proposed rule will allow providers to report for any 90 day period but you shouldn’t wait until the last quarter to get everything in order.

Here are some items that you should be doing now:

• Check with your EHR Vendor to see if they have any upgrades that will improve any processes and get your software upgraded if they do.
• Keep an eye open for the final rule publication by CMS and take advantage of any webinars that your EHR vendor or other industry resources are offering to explain these new rules.
• Make sure that you are collecting emails addresses from your patients and entering them into the patient account.
• If you will be reporting Immunizations to an immunization registry, you should initiate the process with your EHR vendor.
• If you haven’t done so already, work with your EHR vendor to register your providers so that they are able to send secure direct messages.
• To avoid manual entry set up an interface with your most common labs.

The proposed rule that was announced earlier this spring by CMS included the following change:

• EPs must report on either 1 or 2 public health reporting measures. Providers scheduled to be in Stage 1 must choose 1 of the possible 5 measures. Providers scheduled for Stage 2 must choose 2 of the possible 5 measures. If you are able to report, notify your EHR Vendor and be prepared to do a test for connectivity.
  
  • Immunization Registry Reporting
  • Syndromic Surveillance Reporting
  • Case Reporting
  • Public Health Registry Reporting

There has been a lot of push back by the industry on this proposed rule and in most cases Public Registries are not ready to accept electronic data. Although it wouldn’t hurt to investigate what registries are available in your state, it is not necessary to do that until after the final rule is published.

Netgain is here to help you succeed in your Meaningful Use efforts. Contact us if you need assistance in understanding the new rules for 2015 or if you are interested in our Clinical IT Consulting Service.