On April 15 of 2015, President Obama and the members of Congress passed the Medicare Access and Chip Authorization Act (MACRA), which included a permanent solution, instead of the repeated temporary fixes, for the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate methodology used to pay doctors. Under the new law, from 2015 till the end of 2018, physicians will Read more…
Meaningful Use
Six Tips to Prepare for Meaningful Use Attestation
The Final Rule for Modified Meaningful Use was announced by CMS on October 6, 2015. To help practices get a better understanding of the new requirements, necessary to qualify for the upcoming Meaningful Use attestation period, CureMD recently conducted the following webinar: “Meaningful Use in 2015: 6 things to do before the year’s end.” In Read more…
So You Failed Your Meaningful Use Incentive Audit? Podcast by Jim Tate
This podcast focuses on the Meaningful Use Audits, and the compliance procedures which continue to be the cause headaches for practices. The harsh reality of these audits is that long after the costs of the EHR technology have been paid using those incentive funds, a failure to meet even a single MU requirement will result Read more…
Ambulatory EHR Differentiation: CureMD’s interview with IntrepidNow
This past week, Intrepid Healthcare’s Editor-in-Chief Joe Lavelle caught up with CureMD’s Director of Business Development, Ian Walker, to talk about the core factors of Ambulatory EHRs. Meaningful Use, ICD-10, iPad EHRs, and tools for population health management were also discussed in the interview. Here’s the complete podcast: You can also access the interview at intrepidnow.com:
Did you receive a Meaningful Use Audit Notice?
April 2015 is the month the dreadful OIG Meaningful Use audits commenced. These audits are different than the ones conducted by Figliozzi & Company, the outside audit contractor of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Unlike the Figliozzi audits, which cover MU attestation for a single Meaningful Use reporting period, the OIG audits cover incentive Read more…
SGR Repealed– What does that mean for you?
What a happy month April has been. First, CMS announced the simplification of the Meaningful Use program, and then, after 18 years of haggling over it, both Senate and Congress passed the SGR repeal Bill (signed into law by Obama yesterday). If you have been living under a rock and don’t know what the bill is about, Read more…
Good News for Physicians: Meaningful Use Stage 1 and Stage 2 has been simplified
Last Friday, April 10, was a good day. In a welcome yet delayed move, CMS finally announced its proposed rule to simplify its Meaningful Use program. While many Healthcare pundits are praising CMS for its sensitivity to physician concerns, I believe this decision had more to do with rescuing the program from its imminent failure-as Read more…
CMS issues Stage 3 rules for EHR incentive program
BREAKING: CMS issues draft Stage 3 rules for EHR incentive program CMS issued regulations on Friday for the third and final stage of the Federal incentive program, which requires doctors and hospitals to adopt and meaningfully use Electronic Health Records (EHRs). With some exceptions, hospitals, physicians and other eligible professionals would be expected to conform to Read more…
Breaking News: CMS Extends Deadline for Meaningful Use Attestation
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced a new date for Meaningful Use attestation deadline. Eligible professionals (EPs), participating in the Medicare incentive program (only), now have time till March 20, 2015 to attest for Meaningful Use rather than the previous deadline of February 28, 2015. This relaxation is intended to bring relief Read more…
EHR Breakups: A heartbreak for Practices
With the new Meaningful Use 2 (MU2) requirements catching many EHR vendors unawares, it may be time to look for an EHR vendor who is always ahead of the curve. According to a report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as of November 2014 only 2% of eligible professionals had attested to Read more…