The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced an addition to its hardship exemptions available to physicians who are unable to demonstrate meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR). The announcement came the same month that the AMA addressed Stage 3 meaningful use recommendations during a Health IT Policy Committee meeting.
A few grounds for hardship exemptions now are available, including:
- The physician’s software vendor is unable to achieve 2014 Edition certification, the most recently added hardship exemption
- The physician can’t get sufficient Internet access or faces other infrastructure barriers
- The physician is newly practicing and has not had enough time to establish meaningful use, in which case the physician can apply for a two-year exception
- The physician is practicing at multiple locations and has no control over the availability of certified EHR technology for more than one-half of patient encounters
- A natural disaster or other unforeseeable circumstance occurs
- A physician hasn’t had enough patient interactions to meet the threshold requirements
Some physicians, such as those new to Medicare or those in certain specialties, are exempt from the penalty and do not need to apply for a hardship in 2014. Physicians who are not exempt and cannot meet the requirements of the program face penalties beginning next year.
Physicians who are unsure whether they will be able to demonstrate meaningful use in 2014 may apply for a hardship exemption. If a physician applies for a hardship exemption but still attests to and meets meaningful use, the hardship exemption acts as a safety net. Learn more about exemptions in a tip sheet from CMS, and get the hardship exemption application.
Meanwhile, Stage 3 meaningful use recommendations are moving forward. At a recent meeting of the Health IT Policy Committee, the federal advisory committee that provides health IT policy recommendations to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the AMA made public comments expressing concern for the current trajectory of the meaningful use program.
The AMA and other stakeholders said advancing Stage 3 objectives without taking time to reevaluate lessons learned from Stages 1 and 2 would only increase the burden on physicians and hospitals. The AMA also said the meaningful use program should be less prescriptive, and it will continue to advocate for objectives that do not impede physicians’ workflows.
For physicians working toward meeting Stage 2 requirements, CMS has released a new tool called the “Randomizer.” This tool will let physicians exchange data with a test EHR to meet the “Transitions of Care” requirement. To fulfill the requirement, physicians must either conduct at least one successful electronic exchange of a summary-of-care document with a recipient who has EHR technology created by a different technology developer or conduct at least one successful test with the CMS-designated test EHR during the reporting period.
Visit the AMA’s EHR meaningful use Web page to learn more about program requirements and how to avoid penalties.
