New CMS Resources for EHR Adoption

Resources, Webinars, and Expert Perspectives

The 3rd annual National Health IT Week was held on September 16-20. CMS participated throughout the week with releasing new eHealth resources, publishing blog posts, and conducting a series of webinars to help providers participate in eHealth programs.

New Resources

• An interactive eHealth timeline that highlights key 2013 and 2014 milestones to guide participation in the eHealth programs.
• An eHealth eligibility chart that will help health care professionals determine eligibility for eHealth programs.
• An interactive eHealth Payment Adjustment tool to help eligible professionals (EPs) determine if they will incur payment adjustments for the
  • Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs
  • eRx Incentive Program
  • Physician Quality Reporting System

CMS also posted a white paper with 2011 data of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. Highlights from the data include:

• 10% of all Medicare EPs and 17 % of eligible hospitals met and successfully attested to demonstrating meaningful use for Stage 1.
• No eligible hospitals were unsuccessful in attesting to meaningful use.

Webinars
The PowerPoint presentations from the four webinars that CMS hosted will be posted on the Resources page of the CMS eHealth website.

• WEDI/CMS eHealth Webinar – how eHealth plays a central role in CMS’ health IT efforts and how CMS is working with groups like WEDI to advance health care through eHealth.
• Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs: A Look Ahead – the fundamentals and future of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, including basic participation requirements, eligibility, key program deadlines, and what’s ahead in Stage 2.
• WEDI/CMS ICD-10 Webinar –  a basic overview of ICD-10, how it differs from ICD-9, and the steps health care practices should take to transition to ICD-10.
• CMS eHealth Initiative Overview – information on eHealth programs, including Administrative Simplification, the eRx Incentive Program, ICD-10, and Quality Measurement.

Perspectives from CMS Leadership
The Director of the Office of E-Health Standards and Services at CMS, Robert Tagalicod, and other CMS leaders shared their perspectives through the eHealth listserv about the eHealth programs and how they are advancing our nation’s health care system. Those perspectives can be found on the CMS eHealth website.