CMS: How to Submit CQMs in 2013 ; PQRS Update; Electronic Reporting Pilots

Learn More About Submitting Quality Data for the EHR Incentive Programs for 2013 

Providers must report clinical quality measures (CQMs) to CMS to demonstrate meaningful use under the EHR Incentive Programs.

For the 2013 reporting year, there are two options for reporting CQMs for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program: through the CMS Attestation System OR through electronic reporting pilots.

Attestation
When you are ready to submit CQM data through the Attestation System, you should:

1. Log in to the CMS Registration and Attestation system
2. Enter your data for the meaningful use core and menu objectives
3. Report your CQM data directly from your certified EHR technology into the Attestation System:
   • Eligible professionals must report a total of six CQMs
     • Three core or alternate core measures (only report an alternate core measure if one of the core denominators is zero)
     • Three additional measures from a list of 38
   • Eligible hospitals must report a total of 15 CQMs
     • Two measures that target emergency department throughput processes
     • Seven measures that address the care of patients with stroke
     • Six measures that address the care of patients with venous thromboembolism
   • If you are attesting to CQM data for the EHR Incentive Programs you may submit a zero result for a CQM if the zero is the accurate calculation from your EHR

Electronic Reporting Pilots
Eligible professionals and eligible hospitals also have the option to submit CQMs through electronic reporting, or eReporting, pilots:

• For eligible professionals: Through the PQRS-Medicare EHR Incentive Pilot
• For eligible hospitals: Through the QualityNet portal

Providers participating in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will need to attest through their state’s internet-based portal.

Exclusions
Some CQMs cannot be met during the reporting period chosen by the provider and so exclusions are available for those CQMs. For example, many CQMs for EPs require a minimum of two visits for a patient to meet the denominator criteria. Exclusions do not count against a provider’s attestation requirements.

2014 CQM Reporting Changes
Beginning in 2014, all providers must report CQMs based on new requirements outlined in the Stage 2 final rule, regardless of what stage they are in.  For more information on these requirements, such as the number of CQMs and how to select which ones to report, visit the 2014 CQMs webpage.

Want more information about the EHR Incentive Programs?
Make sure to visit the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs.

CMS: New and Updated FAQs for the EHR Incentive Programs Now Available August 28 2013

New and Updated FAQs for the EHR Incentive Programs Now Available 

To keep you updated with information on the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, CMS has recently added four new and five updated FAQs to the CMS FAQ system. We encourage you to stay informed by taking a few minutes to review the new information below.

New FAQs:

1. When meeting the meaningful use measure for computerized provider order entry (CPOE) in the EHR Incentive Programs, does an individual need to have the job title of medical assistant in order to use the CPOE function of certified EHR technology for the entry to count toward the measure, or can they have other titles as long as their job functions are those of medical assistants? Read the answer here.
2. For the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, how should an eligible professional (EP), eligible hospital, or critical access hospital attest if the certified EHR vendor uses 2011 edition certified EHR technology for the first part of 2013 and 2014 edition certified EHR technology for the remainder of 2013? Read the answer here.
3. The specifications for Denominator 2 for measure CMS64v2 do not produce an accurate calculation according to the measure’s intent. When will a correction to this clinical quality measure (CQM) be published? Read the answer here.
4. For the meaningful use Stage 2's transitions of care and referrals objective, in what ways can the second measure be met that requires more than 10% of the summary care records provided for transitions of care and referrals to be electronically transmitted in the EHR Incentive programs? Read the answer here.

Updated FAQs:

1. How does a provider attest to a meaningful use objective (e.g., the “transitions of care,” “view/download patient data,” and public health objectives) where the provider electronically transmits data using technical capabilities provided by a health information exchange? Read the answer here.
2. If an EP sees a patient in a setting that does not have certified EHR technology but enters all of the patient's information into certified EHR technology at another practice location, can the patient be counted in the numerators and denominators of meaningful use measures for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs? Read the answer here.
3. When new versions of CQM specifications are released by CMS, do developers of EHR technology need to seek retesting/recertification of their certified complete EHR or certified EHR module in order to keep its certification valid? Read the answer here.
4. If EHR technology “Product A” is already certified to the December 2012 CQM specifications, can it be updated to include CMS updated June 2013 specifications without seeking retesting/recertification? Read the answer here.
5. If EHR technology is not yet certified to CQM criteria (45 CFR 170.314(c)(1) through (3)), can the EHR technology be tested and certified to only the newest available version of the CQM specifications or must it be tested and certified to the December 2012 specifications (first or as well)? Read the answer here.

MSSNY'S next Advocacy Matters program: NYS Health Information Network: SHIN-NY September 10, 2013

Register today for MSSNY'S next Advocacy Matters program: September 10, 2013

Program Title: The State Health Information Network- New York (SHIN-NY)- What is it and how is the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) and the Department of Health’s Division of Health Information Transformation (OHITT) working to enhance information sharing and care coordination across the health care continuum  

Program Participants:
David Whitlinger, Executive Director, New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC)
Steve Smith, Director of the Division of Health Information Technology Transformation
Educational Objectives:

• Provide data concerning EHR adoption rates in New York State and how they compare with other states.
  
  
• Describe the work of NYeC/DOH OHITT through the Statewide Collaborative process in establishing a roadmap for developing health information exchange in NYS.
  
  
• Discuss the State Health Information Network (SHIN-NY), how it operates, its capabilities, how physicians can connect to it and the costs of participation.
  
  
• Discuss additional statutory and regulatory recommendations under consideration by NYeC and the DOH OHITT.

Register here

Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will step down this Fall.

Dr Mostashari will be adding his legacy at ONC to his contributions to the improvement of Healthcare in the US. He has the great ability to connect with practicing physicians, technology gurus and policy wonks.

Godspeed Dr Mostashari, thank you for bringing us to this far.

Full text of resignation email  

ONC Bio

Heatlhit.gov

CMS: EHR Incentive Programs: New FAQs on HIE and Public Health Measure Requirements for Meaningful Use

Review New FAQs on HIE and Public Health Measure Requirements for Meaningful Use

News Updates | August 2, 2013
	Review New FAQs on HIE and Public Health Measure Requirements for Meaningful Use To keep you updated with information on the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, CMS has recently added five new FAQs and an updated FAQ to the CMS FAQ system. We encourage you to stay informed by taking a few minutes to review the new information below. New FAQs: Can a state capture electronic Clinical Quality Measures, or eCQMs, for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program through a Health Information Exchange (HIE)? Read the answer here. Can a public health agency use a HIE to interface with providers who are submitting public health data to meet the public health objectives of meaningful use (such as submitting information to an immunization registry, reporting lab results to a public health agency or reporting syndromic surveillance information)? Read the answer here. If a provider utilizes a health information organization that participates with the eHealth Exchange but is not connected to public health entities in the provider’s state, does the provider still need to connect to those entities for purposes of participating in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program? Read the answer here. How does a provider attest to a meaningful use objective (e.g., the “transitions of care,” “view/download patient data,” and public health objectives) where the provider electronically transmits data using technical capabilities provided by a HIE? Read the answer here. If an EP or hospital attesting to meaningful use in the EHR Incentive Program submits a successful test to the immunization registry in year 1 of Stage 1 and engages with the immunization registry in year 2, but does not achieve ongoing submission of data to the immunization registry during their reporting period in year 1 or year 2, should they attest to the measure or the exclusion? Read the answer here. Updated FAQ: If multiple eligible professionals or eligible hospitals contribute information to a shared portal or to a patient's online personal health record (PHR), how is it counted for meaningful use when the patient accesses the information on the portal or PHR? Read the answer here. Want more information about the EHR Incentive Programs? Make sure to visit the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs website for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs.