CMS Announces Revised Date for Attestation for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program

CMS announced on Friday that attestation for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program opens on April 18, 2011. This date is revised from the original April 4, 2011 date.

To view the announcement along with a preview of the attestation system, click here.


Additional Important Dates Include:

• April 2011 – Attestation for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program begins.
• May 2011 – EHR Incentive Payments expected to begin.
• July 3, 2011 – Last day for eligible hospitals to begin their 90-day reporting period to demonstrate meaningful use for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.
• September 30, 2011 – Last day of the federal fiscal year. Reporting year ends for eligible hospitals and CAHs.
• October 1, 2011 – Last day for eligible professionals to begin their 90-day reporting period for calendar year 2011 for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.
• November 30, 2011 – Last day for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals to register and attest to receive an Incentive Payment for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2011.
• December 31, 2011 – Reporting year ends for eligible professionals.
• February 29, 2012 – Last day for eligible professionals to register and attest to receive an Incentive Payment for calendar year (CY) 2011.

Webinar: Overcoming Health IT Workforce Challenges in the Safety Net Community

Friday, April 1, 2011 – 2:00-3:30 PM EDT, 12:00 - 1:30 PM MDT Sponsored by HRSA’s Office of HIT & Quality Webinar will feature three expert speakers discussing health IT workforce challenges and solutions in overcoming them. Training, development, and retention of the workforce are critical challenges for successfully implementing and sustaining a health information technology (IT) system in health centers and critical access hospitals. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 150,000 health IT professionals will be needed in the future for the nation to successfully become meaningful users of health IT systems.

Presenters are:

Angela Duncan Diop, ND, Director of Information Systems, Unity Health Care, Inc. Chief Information Officer of the 30-site health center network, Unity Health Care, and HRSA grantee, Ms. Diop will talk about how Unity identified, assessed, and overcame long- and short-term health IT workforce challenges.

Kay Gooding, Director of the Health IT Program, Pitt Community College

P. David Falkenstein, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, Director of HIM Programs, Northern Virginia Community College

To register for this webinar, click here.

The Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) and Meaningful Use Attestation

On March 24th, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a memo regarding the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) and meaningful use attestation. The current CIIS system is being updated and is expected to go live on June 27, 2011. Due to the focus of the new system, CIIS has temporarily suspended the processing of test files submitted by Eligible Providers (EP) who will be ready to attest their Electronic Health Records (EHR) starting in April 2011. Because CIIS is not currently accepting test files, EPs ready to attest prior to July 2011 will have an automatic exclusion from this public health menu set objective for 2011. After July, EPs will no longer be able to request this exclusion. Other steps recommended by CIIS include:

• Contact your CO-REC partner and inform them of your public health menu set choice of "Submit Electronic Data to Immunization Registries"


• To get on the CIIS waiting list to submit a test file, email CDPHE-CIIS@state.co.us


• Download, complete, sign and submit all CIIS required paperwork here


• Download and review the CIIS Confidentiality and Security Policies here


• Download the latest version of CIIS's Health Level (HL7) here

CMS Announces Two Upcoming National Education Calls on Registration for the EHR Incentive Programs

Fri Apr 1, 1:30-3pm EDT / 11:30-1pm MDT – Eligible Professionals, Medicare Incentive Program

Wed Apr 6, 1:30-3pm EDT / 11:30-1pm MDT – Eligible Hospitals, Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Programs

On Fri Apr 1, the CMS Provider Communications Group will host a national provider education call for eligible professionals about registration for the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program, which will cover the following topics:
 Eligibility for Incentives
 Switching between the Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Programs
 Reassigning Payments
 Pre-Registration
 Registration
 Helpful Resources

Then, on Wed Apr 6, CMS will host a second national call for eligible hospitals about registration for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, which will cover:
 Eligibility for Incentives
 Dually eligible hospitals
 Pre-Registration
 Registration
 Helpful Resources

In order to receive the call-in information for either of these calls, participants must register. (Note that if you are planning to sit in with a group, only one person needs to register to receive the call-in information.) Registration will close at 1:30pm EST on the day before each of the calls or when available space has been filled; no exceptions will be made, so please register early. To register for these calls:
Visit either:
http://www.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/040111 (for the Fri Apr 1 call), or
http://www.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/040611 (for the Wed Apr 6 call).

Prior to each call, presentation materials will be available in the Upcoming Events section of the Spotlight Page on the CMS EHR website.

CMS Releases Rap Video About Meaningful Use

Feeling a little overwhelmed by Meaningful Use? Not quite sure what Meaningful Use is? Check out this rap video (yes, it says "rap") released by CMS on You Tube and not only learn about Meaningful Use, but have a good laugh, too!

Maybe the politicians aren't as stuffy as we thought ... but they definitely shouldn't quit their day jobs!!

THE Consortium Webinar: Effective Contracting & HIPAA Security Risk Anaysis

Join us for the March Consortium webinar on Thursday, March 17th from 12:00-1:15 pm MT where we will learn the many nuances to successful contract negotiation and contracting. CRHC has helped many organizations by reviewing agreements and this webinar will focus on lessons learned and best practices.

We will also learn about Meaningful Use and the necessity for a HIPAA Security Risk Analysis. All facilities will need to have a formal HIPAA IT security risk assessment completed or updated to meet the HITECH act requirements and to qualify for EHR incentive funds!

To register for this webinar, click here.

500 Hospitals to get Help Fulfilling Data Reporting Requirement for Meaningful Use

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced recently a two-year $4.9 million grant to help hospitals satisfy electronic public health data reporting requirements under meaningful use by connecting them electronically to a shared network.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) will do the recruiting of the hospitals and is looking for hospital's already working on reaching meaningful use. The AHA will create a website for hospitals to learn about selection criteria and sign up.

More than 500 hospitals are expected to be recruited, educated and connected - 100 of which will be critical access (CAH) or rural hospitals.

For more information on the announcement, click here.

CRHC Congratulates Spanish Peaks Family Clinic on a Successful Implementation of an EHR!!!!

March 3rd marked the beginning of a new era for the Spanish Peaks Family Clinic as they successfully implemented an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system! The implementation of an EHR is a huge project and one that cannot be done with the full support of the providers and staff and clearly, Spanish Peaks Family Clinic worked together as a team to see the project completed.

Bill Bolt, CIO/Practice Administrator for the clinic, wrote this in an email thanking his staff just minutes after going live on the EHR, “Just in case those of you on our campus felt a gust of wind about five minutes ago, it was all of us at the clinic breathing a big sigh of relief. Why? Because as of 4:30pm today the clinic is officially on the Physician Documentation/Electronic Health Record.”

Bolt went on to express his gratitude for all the hard work his staff and providers went through to make this monumental change in delivery of care. “Each provider medical team, which are the providers and their respective Medical Assistants now are EHR certified and have began to see patient in the electronic mode as of today. I would like to give all the clinic staff, a big thank you for their patience and culture change to get the clinic into this new technological providing of medicine and medical care.”

Spanish Peaks Family Clinic, along with over 50 other rural health and safety net clinics in the state are participating in the Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Program that officially launched in January 2011.

USDA Invites Applications for Grants to Bring Improved Health Care and Educational Services to Rural Communities

The USDA is accepting applications for telecommunications grants to provide access to education, training and healthcare resources in rural areas. The Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program provides funds to improve rural access to education and health care.

DLT grants can be used for the purchase of eligible equipment and to provide technical assistance. To be eligible, applicants must serve a rural area, demonstrate economic need, and provide at least 15 percent in matching funds. Awards range up to $500,000.

Completed applications must be received by April 25, 2011. For further details about eligibility rules and application procedures visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UTP_DLT.html.

USDA Announces the Community Connect Broadband Grants

$25 million is available for grants from prior year appropriations with a minimum grant amount of $50,000 and maximum grant amount of $1,500,000 for FY 2011.

Eligibility:

1. Only entities legally organized as one of the following are eligible for Community Connect Grant Program financial assistance:
a. An incorporated organization,
b. An Indian tribe or tribal organization, as defined in 25 U.S.C. 450b(b) and (c),
c. A State or local unit of government,
d. A cooperative, private corporation or limited liability company organized on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis.
2. Individuals are not eligible for Community Connect Grant Program financial assistance directly.
3. Applicants must have the legal capacity and authority to own and operate the broadband facilities as proposed in its application, to enter into contracts and to otherwise comply with applicable federal statutes and regulations.

Application:

The application guide, copies of necessary forms and samples, and the Community Connect Grant Program regulation are available from these sources:

1.The Internet: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/utp_commconnect.html

2. The Rural Development Broadband Division, for paper copies of these materials: (202) 690–4673.

Full details are outlined in the attached Notice and in the application guide at the website.