Eligible Providers interested in obtaining CMS incentives and/or avoiding the penalties have been following Meaningful Use guidelines since the program’s inception in 2011. Due to the fickle nature of the program attributed to debate and feedback from invested parties, not to mention its lack of specificity to mental health, EPs have had to pay close attention to each round of Meaningful Use modifications as they are published. Valant keeps abreast with the vendor certification requirements, and we support our EP clientele as you fulfill your own obligations.

This past October, CMS unveiled a final ruling for Meaningful Use that pertains all the way through 2017. Additionally, the ruling’s provisions encompass Stage 3 in 2018 and beyond. We’ve broken down the notable modifications into digestible segments outlined below.

Notable Meaningful Use provisions in 2015 through 2017 include the following:

• The attestation period for 2015 occurs January 4, 2016 through February 29, 2016.
• 90-day reporting period in 2015 for all providers, for new participants in 2016 and 2017, and for any provider moving to Stage 3 in 2017.
• 10 objectives for EPs including one public health reporting objective, down from 18 total objectives in prior stages
• Clinical Quality Measures (CQM) reporting for EPs remains as previously finalized.
• The Stage 3 requirements are optional in 2017. Providers who choose to begin Stage 3 in 2017 will have a 90-day reporting period. All providers will be required to comply with Stage 3 requirements beginning in 2018 using EHR technology certified to the 2015 Edition.

Stage 3 Meaningful Use Provisions scheduled for 2017

Stage 2 objectives and measures have been groomed to align more closely with the forecasted Stage 3 requirements of Meaningful Use. Notable provisions for Stage 3 include:

• 8 objectives for EPs; in Stage 3, more than 60% of the proposed measures require interoperability (up from 33% in Stage 2).
• Public health reporting with flexible options for measure selection.
• CQM reporting aligned with the CMS quality reporting programs.
• Finalize the use of application program interfaces (APIs) that enable the development of new functionalities to build bridges across systems and provide increased data access. This will help patients have unprecedented access to their own health records, empowering individuals to make key health decisions.

A detailed description of the final ruling of Stage 2 Meaningful Use can be found on the CMS website located here.

To find out more about how Valant can help you navigate operational challenges, whether pertinent to Meaningful Use or not, click the button below.

[DEMOCTA cta=”Request a personalized demonstration”]