Update on CMS EHR Incentive Programs August 25, 2011 EHR, Health Care Reform, Physician Resource, Technology CalHIPSO, CMS, EHR, EHR Incentive Program, Lumetra 0 To date, over $149 million in incentive payments have been made under the Medicare Incentive Program, and over $248 million has been paid under the Medicaid Incentive Program across the nation. Registration Reminder Registration for the EHR Incentive Programs is open and CMS is encouraging Medicare providers to register early to avoid potential payment delays. In order to register, providers will need their: National Provider Identifier (NPI). National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) User ID and Password. Payee Tax Identification Number (if you are reassigning your benefits). Payee National Provider Identifier (NPI), if you are reassigning your benefits. To register, please go to www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/20_RegistrationandAttestation.asp. If you have problems with the registration process, you can contact our EHR Information Center from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm (Central Time) Monday through Friday, except federal holidays, at (888) 734-6433. National Provider Call – Registration Open CMS will host a rescheduled National Provider Call on the Physician Quality Reporting System & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program on Monday, August 29, from 10:30am to 12:00pm EST. This educational call was originally scheduled for August 16. Target Audience: Medical coders, physician office staff, provider billing staff, health records staff, vendors, and all Medicare FFS providers. Registration Information: In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call. Registration will close at 1:30pm on August 26 or when available space has been filled; no exceptions will be made. For more details, including instructions on registering for the call, please visit http://www.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/082911. Deadline for Eligible Professionals to Begin Reporting Period for 2011 A reminder that October 3, 2011 is the last day for eligible professionals to begin their 90-day reporting period for calendar year 2011. Eligible professionals have until February 29, 2012 to register and attest to receive an Incentive Payment for the 2011 calendar year, but the reporting period for which they are attesting needs to be 90 consecutive days within the 2011 calendar year. If a provider does not participate in the Medicare Incentive Program in CY 2011, they can still begin participation in CY 2012 and receive $18,000 for their first year’s incentive payment. Remember, for demonstrating meaningful use through both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, the EHR reporting period for an EP's first year is any continuous 90-day period within the calendar year. In subsequent years, the EHR reporting period for EPs is the entire calendar year. Under the Medicaid program, there is also an incentive for the adoption, implementation, or upgrade of certified EHR technology, which does not have a reporting period. Meaningful Use Specification Sheets A reminder that specification sheets on meaningful use, for both hospitals and professionals, are available at www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/30_Meaningful_Use.asp in the Downloads section. These sheets provide detailed information on each of the meaningful use measures, including specifics on how to calculate numerators and denominators, what qualifies for exclusions, and more. EHR Assistance Regional Extension Centers (RECs) are federally funded organizations under the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and cover every geographic region of the United States. They support and serve health care providers to help them quickly become adept and meaningful users of EHRs. The target audience of RECs is primary care clinicians, but many RECs offer assistance to specialists, as well. If you need assistance as you look into transitioning to EHRs and participating in the CMS EHR Incentive Programs, consider contacting: California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization (CalHIPSO)www.calhipso.org (888) 589-4897 Lumetra, San Francisco Local Extension Centerwww.lumetrasolutions.com (415) 677-2081 Comments are closed.
