The following is email communication from CMS.
The 2015 program year for the EHR Incentive Programs began on October 1, 2014 for eligible hospitals. Medicare eligible hospitals beyond their first year of participation have a 365-day EHR reporting period.
All eligible hospitals are required to have 2014 Edition certified EHR technology (CEHRT) to be able to successfully participate in 2015. Some hospital objectives require that 2014 Edition CEHRT be in place for the entire reporting year, while others may only need to be in place for part of the year.
Objectives Requiring CEHRT Functionality for the Full Year
Objectives that require 2014 Edition CEHRT be in place for the entire reporting year:
- Stage 1 Drug-Drug / Drug-Allergy Interaction Checks
- Stage 2 Clinical Decision Support for Drug-Drug / Drug-Allergy
Please note: interruption during the reporting period is allowed for reasons such as system maintenance.
Public Health Objectives Flexibility
Some objectives require a test for the first demonstration, and then require ongoing submission. These objectives give eligible hospitals 60 days from the start of the reporting period to allow time for things like successfully registering, onboarding with the registry, and submitting a test. This inherently provides some flexibility for getting their 2014 Edition CEHRT in place later and submit ongoing from that point forward:
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 Immunization Registries Data Submission
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 Electronic Reportable Lab Results
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 Syndromic Surveillance Data Submission
This flexibility is only allowed if it complies with local and state laws. Some states may require retro-active submission of the data from the beginning of the year if there is a delay in implementation.
Threshold Objectives Flexibility
For all of the threshold objectives (those with a numerator and denominator), the eligible hospital must meet the threshold to meet the measure(s) and objective. Eligible hospitals may not need to have 2014 Edition CEHRT in place for the full year to be able to meet the threshold for these objectives.
If the eligible hospital meets the threshold during the reporting period, it meets the measure whether or not the function was in place for the full year.
For More Information
To learn more about the requirements for each objective, review the Stage 1 and Stage 2 specification sheets. Visit the EHR website for more program information and resources.