According to a report in Politico, the groups have met with staffers for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to express their concern about providers’ abilities to meet the current requirements.
Currently, the reporting period for 2015 is a full year, which started Oct. 1 for hospitals and will start Jan. 1 for physicians. In light of the struggles providers faced this year in implementing certified technology and attesting to meaningful use, the industry groups believe many of the providers who weren’t able to implement 2014 Edition CEHRT in time to attest in 2014 are not ready to do so in 2015.
Reducing the attestation period to 90 days, and thereby giving hospitals until July 1, 2015 (and eligible professionals until Oct. 1, 2015) to start the reporting period, would “help hundreds of thousands of providers meet stage 2 requirements in an effective and safe manner,” according to the letter 17 health IT industry groups, including those currently in the capital, wrote to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell last month. “This will reinforce investments made to date and it will ensure continued momentum towards the goals of stage 3, including enhanced care coordination and interoperability.”
There already is some support in Congress for a legislated shorter reporting period. The Flexibility in Health IT Reporting Act, introduced by Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.), would reduce the 2015 reporting period from 365 days to 90, and allow providers to choose any quarter in 2015 for EHR reporting. The bill has gained four co-sponsors in the past two weeks and is expected to gain more.
More articles on meaningful use:
Meeting meaningful use requires less than 10 percent of physicians’ EHR data
4 things hospitals can do to gain a competitive edge while preparing for ICD-10
CMS reopens MU hardship exception application submission period
