New interactive portal to help with EHR "meaningful use"

The Colorado Medical Society and CO-REC (Colorado Regional Extension Center) have developed a free, self-guided educational tool to help practices with many of the resources needed to achieve "meaningful use" of electronic health records (EHRs).

The online portal takes physicians and their staff through step-by-step training and educational modules to help them select, implement and meaningfully use certified EHR technology. The portal is available to all Colorado physicians or practice staff members.

The portal contains interactive tools including an EHR readiness assessment, EHR selection criteria assessments, EHR contract considerations, and pre-implementation checklists necessary for successful implementation. It also includes links to statewide resources and information on critical success factors and the most common "failure modes" that drive EHR/HIE implementation, detailed privacy and security requirements.

For more information click here. To access the portal, click here.

December 2011 Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Update

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing continues to work on implementing the Colorado Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program, through which eligible health care professionals and hospitals can receive incentive payments for adoption and meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

To read more about the update, click here.

CMS Launching Medicaid.gov Website

The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) announced the initial launch of http://medicaid.gov, the first Federal government website devoted to the policies -- and the people -- of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

This website is the culmination of efforts at the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services to revitalize and reorient the information the Federal government makes available about these programs. As part of our commitment to transparency and information sharing, Medicaid.gov brings to the forefront the items that States, the health policy community and other stakeholders have said they care about most, including: our Federal policy guidance; lists of pending and approved waivers; highlights of our Affordable Care Act implementation efforts; State-specific program information and data; and improved search capabilities.

Proposed Meaningful Use Timeline Changes Encourage Adoption of EHRs

In response to significant input from multiple stakeholders, expert testimony, and countless hours of review, analysis and deliberation, HHS announced its intention to delay the start of Stage 2 meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs for a period of one year for those first attesting to meaningful use in 2011. CMS intends to propose such a delay in the Stage 2 meaningful use Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which is scheduled to be published in February 2012.

Why Did We Make this Decision? Input from the vendor community and the provider community makes clear that the current schedule for compliance with Stage 2 meaningful use objectives in 2013 poses a challenge for those who are attesting to meaningful use in 2011.

The current timetable would require EHR vendors to design, develop, and release new functionality, and for providers to upgrade, implement, and begin using the new functionality as early as October 2012.

What are the Benefits to the Proposed Delay? We believe that a proposed delay will be beneficial for several reasons:

1. We hope that this will give vendors added time to develop certified EHR technologies for Stage 2, as well as give providers additional time to implement new software and meet the new requirements of Stage 2.


2. We also intend to propose maintaining the current expectation for those first attesting to meaningful use in 2012, so that all providers attesting to meaningful use in 2011 or 2012 will begin Stage 2 in 2014.


3. We believe this provides an added incentive for providers to attest to meaningful use in 2011 and rewards early participants.

Under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, providers who attest early receive greater incentives. And now those providers who first attest in 2011 are eligible for three payment years for meeting the Stage 1 criteria, while those first attesting in 2012 can only have two payment years under Stage 1 criteria.

Are Medicaid Program Participants Affected? Because Medicaid providers can receive an incentive payment for adopting, implementing, or upgrading to certified EHR technology in their first year of Medicaid EHR Incentive Program participation, Medicaid providers will still be able to attest to Stage 1 meaningful use for the next two years (first for a 90-day period, then for a 365-day period).

Therefore, most Medicaid providers do not attest to Stage 2 requirements until 2014 at the earliest.

Apply now for up to $50,000 through the Colorado Rural Health Care Grant Program

The deadlines have been set for the fifth cycle of the Colorado Rural Health Care Grant Program, with online intent to apply forms due on January 13, 2012 and applications due at noon on February 15, 2012. Organizations that are located outside of Colorado’s urbanized areas that provide outpatient primary care services—including medical, oral, and mental health services—are eligible to apply. Grants will be funded for projects that support the rural health infrastructure and strengthen the capacity of rural entities to provide outpatient primary care services now and in the future.

This grant program is funded by the UnitedHealth Group with $1 million in grant funds available for this grant cycle. The maximum award amount is $50,000 per applicant. The Colorado Rural Health Care Grant Council oversees the program. The Council is responsible for developing and providing oversight to this program funded by the UnitedHealth Group. The Colorado Rural Health Center serves as the grant administrator.

Read more about this funding opportunity
Fill out an Intent to Apply form
Download the grant guidance
Download the application

Contact Shelly Collings with any questions:720.248.2742 • sc@coruralhealth.org

HRSA Webinar: for Overcoming the Gray Areas of Meaningful Use Stage 1

Tuesday December 13, 2011, 2pm EST

This webinar provides tips and guidance of how safety net providers, such as health centers, critical access hospitals, and rural health clinics can overcome common gray areas of meeting Meaningful Use Stage 1 objectives.

Gray areas are objectives within the final rule that are still not clear to providers. Presenters from the Regional Extension Centers (REC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will review these problem areas based on previous comments and questions directed to HRSA, CMS, and ONC staff from safety net providers.

These areas include: dealing with vendors and other EHR issues; attesting data to CMS and State Medicaid programs; troubleshooting quality measures; and other Meaningful Use Stage 1 problems that safety net providers have encountered. In addition, this webinar will include a presentation by CMS Staff on “Adopt, Implement, and Upgrade” (AIU) of electronic health records.

Presenters include staff from both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Regional Extension Centers.

Questions to presenters are welcome ahead of the event and may be emailed to healthit@hrsa.gov

To register: http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=84138124

HHS Extends Meaningful Use Deadline

Although it’s not officially out in regulations, it appears Meaningful Use Stage II will be pushed back to 2014 from 2013.

To read the ModernHealthcare.com article, click here.

Our January 2012 Consortium webinar will have more information. To register for the January 2012 Consortium webinar, click here.

CMS’ New Medicare EHR Incentive Program Guide for Eligible Professionals

CMS has created a new comprehensive tool, An Introduction to the Medicare EHR Incentive Program for Eligible Professionals, to help guide EPs through all of the phases of the Medicare EHR Incentive Program—from eligibility and registration to attestation and payment. Chapters provide information on:

EHR Incentive Program basics
How to participate (determining eligibility and registration)
Meaningful use and choosing measures
Attestation
Helpful resources on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs

The guide is interactive. Users can click on sections of the Table of Contents to learn more about specific areas of the program. Interactive tabs are also included at the bottom of each page where users can jump from chapter to chapter. Additionally, each section provides readers with user-friendly screen shots, charts, and links to the CMS website.

Note: If a user prefers a hard copy document, the guide can also be printed. Links are written out and hyperlinked throughout the guide.

The guide can be found on the Educational Materials section of the EHR website, along with several other helpful tools and resources for participants in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.