Is case you hadn’t heard ….
Flex-IT Act – For those not familiar with this act, it would change the attestation period for meaningful use stage 2 from 365 days to only 90 days. This act is being backed by some very strong healthcare organizations including a call from the AMA, CHIME, HIMSS, and MGMA to make this change. As is noted by these organizations, very few hospitals have attested to meaningful use stage 2 and only 2 percent of eligible providers have attested to meaningful use stage 2 so far (they do have until the end of February).
If the meaningful use stage 2 numbers continue on this trend, CMS will need to do something or risk having the program be labeled a failure. It’s hard to predict what will happen (or not happen) in Washington, but the pressure to change the meaningful use stage 2 reporting periods to 90 days is growing. Poor meaningful use stage 2 attestation numbers could very well push this issue over the edge.
EHR Penalty Hardship Exemption – In case you missed it, CMS reopened the meaningful use hardship exception period. Originally you had to file for a meaningful use hardship exception by July 1, 2014, but you now have until November 30, 2014 to apply for an exception. This is a big deal for those who likely didn’t know they’d need an exception for meaningful use.
While this exception is related to the EHR certification flexibility (ie. your EHR vendor software isn’t ready for you to implement and attest), many have wondered if we won’t see more ways for organizations to avoid the coming meaningful use penalties. These prognosticators suggest that if meaningful use stage 2 numbers continue to be as awful as what’s described above, it’s possible that the government will provide some relief from the meaningful use penalties. As of now, the meaningful use penalties are coming, so you better be prepared.
Exerpted from: http://www.emrandhipaa.com/guest/2014/11/06/a-meaningful-use-update/