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.