Meaningful Use Updates

As part of our thought leadership focus, this blog provides insight into the requirements that hospitals and eligible providers must meet to achieve Meaningful Use.  Authored by Steve Emery, industry expert and HealthPort Director of Product Management, Meaningful Use News and Updates serves as an educational forum for discussions on the intricacies and steps involved in the Meaningful Use process.
 
About Steve…
Steve Emery has over 24 years of experience leading teams in the development and enhancement of healthcare information technology and has authored and contributed to numerous articles which have appeared in major healthcare publications on Meaningful Use and other healthcare related topics.

• Meaningful Use and Patient Access to Record: Understanding the Fine Print

  December 09, 2011

  This month I authored an article in Becker’s Hospital Review titled, “Meaningful Use and Patient Access to Record: Understanding the Fine Print.”  In the article, I explore the five stage-one MU criteria focused on patient access to information and how patients directly benefit from HITECH's meaningful use incentive program. 
  

   

  Click here to read the article in its entirety.

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• Meaningful Use Attestation Guides and the EHR Certification Number

  November 10, 2011

  Meaningful Use Attestation Guides - CMS recently published new guides for the Meaningful Use attestation process.  The two pdf documents (one for hospitals and one for eligible professionals) show the entire attestation process, screen by screen. This means you can get a preview of the data you need for Meaningful Use attestation prior to registering. The guides also explain the values needed and the rules for exclusions, where exclusions are allowed.

  Click here to find the guides. Then, scroll down to the section entitled, “Do you have questions about attestation?” and click the link titled, “Where can I find user guides and other resources?” The link jumps to the resources section, where the first two items are the Attestation User Guides.
  
  Direct links to the guides are below – but CMS changes these links from time to time.
  
  For Hospitals, click here.
  
  For Eligible Professionals, click here.
  
  EHR Certification Number - The guides also illustrate entering your facility’s EHR Certification Number. This is a unique 15 character ID that is generated by the ONC CHPL Site (Office of the National Coordinator – Certified HIT Product List) for your combination of certified EHR technologies. You will need to get this number prior to attestation. This number is different than the certification number on the seal provided to your vendor(s) by the certifying bodies.  

  To obtain an EHR Certification Number, click here to access the ONC CHPL web site.
  
  Search for and select each of the certified products you are using for Meaningful Use and add them to your “cart.” 
  
  Note that the website has two groups of certified technologies for searching – Ambulatory and Inpatient (see the buttons at the bottom of the screen). HealthPort’s eSmartLog* application is certified and listed for both inpatient and ambulatory (this is important, to allow every customer to generate an EHR Certification Number).
  
  When you have selected a set of technologies which covers ALL of the Meaningful Use requirements, the web site will allow you to generate an EHR Certification Number.  This 15 digit value is what you need for the attestation process.

  *This EHR Module is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by Drummond Group, an ONC-ATCB approved to certify any complete or modular EHR both ambulatory and inpatient, in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments. HealthPort eSmartlog, 08/11/2011, Version 1.1, 08112011‐1318‐8 (inpatient), 08112011‐1317‐8 (ambulatory), 7zip.

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• Certification Versus Meaningful Use

  October 25, 2011

  Just because your EHR was CERTIFIED to do it doesn’t mean you HAVE to do it for Meaningful Use.
  
  

  CMS and ONC (the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT) were the authors of the Meaningful Use rule and the EHR Certification Rule, respectively. The clearly stated intention of the certification rule is to give providers and facilities a way to know that basic capabilities exist in their EHR system. Those capabilities must then be used and tracked to prove Meaningful Use, but CMS explicitly described some differences in the MU rule, usually in the name of “flexibility.”

  For instance, Certified EHR systems must provide a way for users to encrypt files containing PHI. On the other hand, however, the Meaningful Use rule clearly states that it will not mandate when or how the facility should use this encryption capability, if at all. The rule does note that HIPAA and HITECH already provide guidance on privacy and security. The long and short of this is that as facilities create electronic copies of medical records for patients, they are at liberty to decide when and how to encrypt, or even to decide not to encrypt at all. This means they can use the encryption tools within the Certified EHR, or other tools. At HealthPort, we feel strongly that electronic copies should all be encrypted, as the hard-drives of all HealthPort PCs are encrypted, so that maximum protection can be ensured no matter where that electronic copy may travel. And we work with our partners to create an encryption password process that works for the facility and for the patients.

  In another example, Certified EHR systems must be able to produce a CCD or CCR (“Continuity of Care Document” or “Continuity of Care Record”) - two national standards for electronic layouts of medical data – in xml format and a human readable version.  However, to meet Meaningful Use for patient electronic copies of medical records, only the human readable version must be provided to the patient. CMS understands that the most common use of the patient copy will be for humans to view and read it, not machines, and so at this point, CCD or CCR is not required for patient copies.
  
  Nearly every facility HealthPort has spoken to about this is planning to deliver just the human readable version.  Many have said they would not pass CCD or CCR versions to patients because they believe it will only lead to questions and it may also lead to debates about payment for the CCD/CCR portion of the copy.  CCD and CCR were designed for system-to-system exchange of medical record data, and the patient copy is not seen, yet, as part of that type of transfer.

  As your facility is working through the other MU requirements, it’s important to know the difference between what was certified and what is required for MU. Many MU requirements do mandate that the exact certified process or format be used in order to qualify, but some do not. Wherever possible, the rule makers wanted to allow room for facilities and vendors to innovate, and many of those breathing spaces show up as differences between the certification and the MU requirements.
  
  A terrific resource for learning about these breathing spaces, and CMS interpretation of the rule, is the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website – particularly the FAQ page. Click here and look for the Frequently Asked Questions link on the lower left side of the EHR Incentive Programs site.

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• HealthPort Certifies eSmartlog, its release of information logging, tracking and correspondence application, as an EHR Module for Meaningful Use

  September 02, 2011

  HealthPort now has a Certified EHR Module for Meaningful Use. If you want to know a little more about the certification process, read the next two paragraphs. If not, you can cut to the chase by scrolling down to “What does certification mean?” or even to “What’s next”.

  HealthPort completed its first round of testing for eSmartlog, our release of information software application, with The Drummond Group, one of the federally accredited certifying bodies for the EHR Incentive Program. The object of the test was to prove that the system can perform certain Meaningful Use functions according to national standards, and that the software contains the required security features. The Drummond testing proctor passed HealthPort’s system on all tested criteria, recommending certification.

  The rest of the process happened later. Federal law separates the testing function from the certification function. An organization, like The Drummond Group, might be approved by the government to perform just testing or just certification, separately.  In fact, however, each of the accredited companies perform both functions, but maintain strict administrative separation between them. The initial test was only half of the process, performed by one team within The Drummond Group.Actual certification was granted (by authority delegated from the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT, part of the Department of Health and Human Services) soon after the initial test, when the Drummond Certification Committee met to review the recommendations of the test proctor.

  What does certification mean?

  Certification indicates that HealthPort is prepared to meet the security requirements for Meaningful Use, and to monitor, tally, and report the results for the ROI requirement that is HealthPort’s specialty (patient electronic copy in 3 business days).  Customers wanting to use HealthPort solutions for delivery of Meaningful Use record copies to patients, will breathe easier because certification has been achieved.

  What’s next?

  HealthPort does not anticipate any change in fee structures or service as a result of certification. Current service levels and partner agreements are unaltered by Meaningful Use or certification.

  HealthPort wants to help you meet Meaningful Use, but we can’t do it automatically just because we’re certified.   Meeting the 3 business day deadline for an electronic patient copy of medical records will take a coordinated effort between HealthPort and the HIM Department at your facility.  Reporting can be done in multiple ways, and we can’t make those decisions without you. We need to have a conversation, complete a Meaningful Use Questionnaire, and be on record with workflows and procedures for meeting Meaningful Use.

  You can think of certification as putting us into the uniform and on your MU bench. The next step is to put us in play by letting your local District Manager of Operations know of your Meaningful Use plans. 

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• Welcome to Our Meaningful Use Updates Blog!

  July 29, 2011

  Every parent would recognize the debate that takes place at the birth of a new blog.  What are you going to name the new arrival?  You consider different names and try to forecast how those names will influence the world’s first impressions of your child.  Will the name capture the child’s personality?  Will the name limit the child in any way?

  For our Meaningful Use blog we considered different names, as well.  There are so many possibilities:

  “3 Business Days” – A focus on the tight timeframe for releasing electronic copies of medical records to patients, and all the workflow and system changes that might be required to get there.  HealthPort is deeply engaged with this MU requirement, and has dug into the fine print and real world issues that emerge when facilities confront the day-to-day realities of meeting this deadline.

  “Use it Meaningfully” – Discussing ways to make the incentive program actually improve patient satisfaction, increase the HIM department’s effectiveness, better secure medical records, and maximizing any other positive outcome that might accrue from implementing EHR technology and pursuing Meaningful Use.

  “Is That a FAQ?” – CMS and other organizations continue to make changes to the rules of the MU game, and publishing them in “Frequently Asked Question” posts on the EHR Incentive Program website.  HealthPort keeps abreast of these, and can help alert our partners when changes apply to the ROI effort.

  “What is MU?” (Pronounced “moo”) – a Zen meditation on Meaningful Use’s place in the cosmos and how to achieve inner peace about regulations, incentives, and HITECH.
   
  

  “Don’t Forget to Feed IT” – A guide to tickling the fancy of the IT departments which will be ever more important with the implementation of EHRs and Meaningful Use.

  When the decision time comes, though, you realize you want people to see a business blog name and know why they should tune in.  This space is going to focus on news and updates about Meaningful Use, so we kept things simple and named it that way.

  We want this blog to be helpful, easy to read, informative, and valuable to our partners.  We hope to help partners with the nitty gritty of the rules and implementation, but also, where possible, to put a smile on your face.  Meaningful Use is going to be hard work, and cause tough choices and challenging changes.  We hope this blog can help with facts, discussion, and maybe a little positive energy to meet the road ahead.

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