“We were pleased to see that the CMS and ONC rules include some flexibility, especially in the areas of escalating stages of meaningful use requirements, straightforward first-year attestation, and reasonable 90-day reporting windows,” said MGMA president and CEO Dr. William Jessee. “However, we firmly believe that the government should make additional changes to achieve widespread adoption by professionals in all types of clinical settings.”
For more information on the proposed regulations, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/Recovery/11_HealthIT.asp
Federal health officials have “tried to build in flexibility in these standards and certification criteria, as well as providing necessary guidance,” Dr. David Blumenthal said.
Source: Courtesy HHS.gov
My Take
HITECH Rules Pose a Challenge
The passage of the HITECH legislation created a monumental task for Dr. Blumenthal and the Office of the National Coordinator, who have done an excellent job in responding to the challenge of defining “meaningful use” of electronic health information systems.
The rules spell out a phased set of requirements that build upon the work of the preceding advisory process. And the financial incentives that Congress put in place are especially notable for all internists who care for patients in a fee-for-service setting.
However—and this is a big however—lawmakers and many within the bureaucracy still may not fully realize what an enormous hurdle practitioners must overcome in trying to go from paper to electronic records. Also, the voices of those concerned with privacy issues have yet to be fully heard. Even the multiyear approach laid out in the rules may be unreasonably ambitious.
ALAN R. NELSON, M.D., is a member of the