Stage 2 EHR Final Rule Is Released

October 1, 2012 | Evaluations & Guidance

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized the Stage 2 ruling for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program, which was created under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The Stage 2 requirements expand the effort toward effective data exchange and EHR use that was begun with Stage 1, which stipulated the basic functionality of an EHR. Currently, eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical-access hospitals (CAHs) are in the process of demonstrating, or already have demonstrated, Stage 1 meaningful use; Stage 2 meaningful use can be demonstrated as soon as 2014. Stage 3 requirements are not yet finalized. (We described the basics of the incentive program in our January 2010 issue. )

Stage 2’s meaningful use objectives are categorized into core objectives (providers must meet all of these) and menu objectives (providers must meet a certain number of these, which they select from a list). Eligible professionals must meet 17 core objectives and 3 out of 6 menu objectives. Eligible hospitals and CAHs must meet 16 core...

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