The AMA's Health IT Advocacy Efforts
May 2012 Sign-on Comment letter to CMS on Proposed Stage 2 Meaningful Use Rule>
May 2012 Comment letter to ONC on Proposed Stage 2 Certification Rule
March 2012 health IT and patient safety letter to ONC.
July 2011 comment letter on ePrescribing program modifications
A matrix illustrating applicability to different specialties of Stage 1 and proposed Stage 2 MU requirements
Initial feedback from many medical specialty organizations re: Stage 1 and Stage 2 MU measures
Cross-industry letter to Secretary Sebelius re: initial feedback on Stage 1 and proposed Stage 2 MU measures
AMA issues statement on EHR usability for testimony before Health IT Policy Committee
AMA issues sign-on letter on proposed requirements for Stage 2 meaningful use of EHRs
Cross-industry letter to Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
Following substantial feedback from the AMA and other stakeholders, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the final requirements physicians and hospitals will need to meet to receive these incentives. The AMA’s input into the policymaking process as well as fact sheets detailing the program’s requirements are described below.
AMA responds to final regulations guiding the use of electronic health records (EHRs) for the purposes of receiving incentives under Medicare and Medicaid. CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) issued the rules on July 13, 2010.
- Overview of Medicare EHR incentive program requirements
- Overview of Medicaid EHR incentive program requirements
- Overview of health IT requirements physicians must meet
- Overview of clinical quality measures physicians must meet
- Frequently asked questions
AMA increases efforts to improve physicians’ requirements for receiving EHR incentives. On multiple occasions over the past year, the AMA has taken the opportunity to comment on the government’s federal rule-making progress with respect to meaningful use of EHRs. The following letters document what the AMA had to say about the then proposed federal rules regarding meaningful use of EHRs, standards and certification of EHRs, and the certification program for organizations seeking to become ONC Authorized Certification and Testing Bodies.
- AMA’s meaningful use sign-on letter
- Health IT coalition’s meaningful use sign-on letter
- AMA’s standards and certification comment letter
- AMA’s certification programs for health IT comment letter
- AMA June 26 comment letter and detailed matrix signed onto by 82 special and state medical societies outlining a vision for defining “meaningful use.”
- AMA August 12 comment letter and attached matrix in reaction to the Policy Committee’s proposal.
- AMA comment letter, September 17.
- Letter AMA signed onto concerning lack of sufficient quality measures for specialists.
Notice on meaningful use and private payer patients
Physicians are now eligible to qualify for Medicare incentive payments by attesting to meaningful use of certified electronic health records (EHRs).
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expects physicians to meet meaningful use measures for all patients seen during the reporting period—including both Medicare and non-Medicare patients and private payer non-Medicare/Medicaid patients—in order to qualify for Medicare/Medicaid EHR incentives.
The AMA believes that the law only requires accomplishing measures for Medicare (or Medicaid) patients seen/provided services for during the reporting period and does NOT include private payer non-Medicare/Medicaid patients. While the AMA continues to pursue this point with CMS, it is important for physicians to know that CMS expects physicians to meet the meaningful use measures for all patients seen during the reporting period in order to qualify for Medicare/Medicaid EHR incentives.
