Setting Pace For Or Delaying Stage 2 Of Meaningful Use? That Is The Question!

By Author: MTBC
Total Articles: 5
Comment this article

Achieving Meaningful Use of EHR technology and receiving federal incentive bonuses is a significant motivator for a nationwide transition to a 21sth century IT infrastructure for healthcare.So far an estimated 50,000 providers have signed up to participate in the EHR Incentive Program.
The transition to a full blown nationwide IT infrastructure will occur in 3 stages. Currently, Stage 1 of Meaningful Use is in place. However, in 2013 Stage 2 will begin and bring with it new requirements for Meaningful Use of EHR technology.

The current debate in the federal advisory committee working on Meaningful Use is about what should actually be included in Stage 2. The federal advisory committee has to decide what will allow for greater EHR adoption at an achievable pace for most providers across the country. At the same time, whatever the federal advisory committee decides to include in Stage 2 will also become a means for policy makers to accomplish their end objective.

The requirements for Stage 2 will be selected based on a report that was recently issued by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science ...
... and Technology (PCAST). Currently, based on the report by PCAST, Stage 2 requirements may include EHR functions that would expand health information exchanges, enable patients to download information to a personal health record, allow for simple searches by providers and allow for the sharing of immunization data.

On the other hand, the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association along with most other major trade associations in the health IT sector want a delay in Stage 2 implementation in order to allow more time for providers and vendors to get ready for the change.

Another factor in delaying Stage 2 is allowing providers more time to adopt other deadline-driven health IT projects, more specifically the conversion to ICD-10. As the conversion to ICD-10 is a federal mandate and not simply an incentive program, such as Meaningful Use is, it will most likely be top priority for providers. However, some say that delaying Stage 2 of Meaningful Use may not alleviate some of the tensions associated with converting to ICD-10. With that in mind, the HIT Policy Steering Committee has to weigh the benefits against the drawbacks of delaying Stage 2. The advisory panel to the committee will present its recommended plans in June and the final decision is expected to be announced in mid-2012.

ABOUT MTBC
Founded in 1999 and based in Somerset, N.J., MTBC performs revenue cycle and practice management services for healthcare providers across the country. MTBC PracticePro™—its end-to-end medical billing, practice management and EHR solution—is offered at only 5% of monthly collections, presenting a service suite that is unmatched in the industry for its scope and value. Features of PracticePro™ include MTBC EHR 5.0 (an ONC-ATCB Certified Ambulatory EHR), automated appointment reminders, real-time online insurance eligibility verification, a customized practice website with online patient scheduling, e-prescribing, lab connectivity and more. These features augment MTBC's web-based billing platform, which includes numerous practice management tools, financial reporting capabilities, online patient scheduling and secure online access to all claims and patient information.

To learn more about any of MTBC’s healthcare technology solutions, please visit www.mtbc.com or call (732) 873-5133 x113
MTBC Founded in 1999 and based in Somerset, N.J., MTBC performs revenue cycle and practice management services for healthcare providers across the country. For more detail please visit http://www.mtbc.com/ehr-overview.aspx