Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Incentives For Meaningful Use Certified Ehr Program

By Coleen Torres


Incorporation of technology in health management has prompted the national authority to offer incentives in order to boost compliance. The incentives offered under the meaningful use certified ehr target hospitals, professionals and critical access hospitals. The national office is responsible for enhancing capacity building and ensuring compliance. It has released a set of regulations that must be met in order to achieve the certificate.

The program began with a trail temporary program for target parties. It aimed at testing compliance and helping in capacity building as institutions and individuals prepared for permanent status. Enjoyment of incentives with a temporary certificate can only be approved if proof is provided that the systems were operation over the period of claim. There is a set threshold for such evidence.

A permanent program has been introduced with the aim of replacing the temporary one. This will not phase out the temporary one. A transition period has been provided for interested parties to take advantage. The information is being updated on regular bases as the authority concerned seeks to find a longer lasting solution.

The tests, tools, cases and requirements released by national authorities assist candidates through the evaluation processes. The national office responsible for technology and standardization has developed these rules. They outline requirements at each level for both institutions and professionals seeking certification.

The technology must be meaningfully utilized to qualify a health facility or individual to receive the benefits offered under the initiative. The threshold set by standardization institute must be met. The details include information sharing about patients and offering a care summary record whenever it is needed.

There are different thresholds for health facilities, professionals and critical access hospitals. This means that each entity has a threshold to meet depending on its specialization. Professionals working in such an environment must also meet a certain threshold.

Ehr requirements are met in stages. The stages require unique levels of engagement and participation. The first stage will run for 90 days during the first year of evaluation. The second year will be reviewed in entirety making a total of fifteen months. Only institutions and professionals who complete the first stage are allowed to proceed to the next phase.

The second phase takes two full years to allow authorities to check compliance and capacity for permanent certification. Individuals are vetted following the calendar year while hospitals follow the federal fiscal calendar. It is possible to find a certified individual working in an institution that is yet to be certified. The requirements for each entity are different.

There are 17 core objectives to be met by professionals seeking incentives while hospitals and critical access hospitals are required to meet 16 of them. Professionals are also provided with a menu of six from where they have to choose three more objectives. This brings their total tally to twenty. The total for hospitals is nineteen.

Certification payment incentives are subjected to federal reduction under the sequentration program. The figure is set at two percent as is used in the medicare plan. The government set April 2013 as the final date of reporting by following this percentage.




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