Health Care Coalition Calls for Shortened Meaningful Use Reporting Period  

Statement by CHIME Board Chair Marc Probst and CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO

"A loud chorus of 34 health care organizations today called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS] to act quickly and adopt a 90-day reporting period in 2016 for the Meaningful Use program. Doing so would build continuity with the shortened reporting period that the agency implemented in 2015. The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives has been a leading advocate for a 90-day reporting period.

"Health care providers are firmly committed to using information technology to transform the delivery system. Changes made to the Meaningful Use program last year provided welcomed relief from burdensome regulatory requirements. Providers now are awaiting further changes to the program spurred by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 [MACRA]. However, the current regulatory scheme still calls for a 365-day reporting period. Until the final MACRA rules are issued, providers will be greatly challenged to meet the reporting requirements. Maintaining a 365-day reporting period also will force providers to pull resources away from using health IT to innovate care processes and workflows. Additionally, it will limit the amount of time providers and vendors could spend on improving interoperability and information exchange.

"We look forward to working with CMS in continuing to refine the Meaningful Use program and advance health IT solutions that help us achieve the Triple Aim."

Click here for a copy of the letter that was sent to CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt.

Source: College of Healthcare Information Management Executives