By Jim Tate, EMR Advocate
Meaningful Use Audit Expert
Twitter: @JimTate, eMail: Inquiry@meaningfuluseaudits.com
Like all great rumors it started with a grain of truth. CMS acting administrator Andy Slavitt, made a statement (“… we’re now in the process of ending meaningful use”…) that took on a life of its own and soon the mole hill became a mountain. In the blink of an eye the word spread that the meaningful use program had died. My inbox was full of emails from providers and vendors asking if their prayers had come true. In a world of social media there was just room for the headline, forget the context. Here are some Tweets we saw this week that added to the confusion. I am not reporting the authors; you know who you are. Suffice to say the quotes below came from a collection of organizations considered the most reputable in the field. The rush to report failed to meet the first rule of journalism, “get it right”.
CMS chief vows to replace meaningful use
#MeaningfulUse Is Dead, Long Live Something Better!
CIOs celebrate end to meaningful use
#EHR #MeaningfulUse to End in 2016, #CMS Leader Says
#MeaningfulUse ends in 2016, says #CMS – was it worth it?
Stakeholders Cautiously Optimistic About Plan To End #MeaningfulUse
Every one of those statements is either 100% wrong at worst or misleading at best. Here is what is real:
The CMS EHR Incentive program, as mandated by law and regulation, is winding down. No surprise there. The Meaningful Use of Certified Electronic Health Records (MU of CEHRT) has been written into stone for the upcoming MIPS program that will affect Medicare Part B in 2019 based on 2017 performance. The failure to achieve MU of CEHRT under that program will cost eligible providers 25 of their maximum 100 composite MIPS scores. The potential loss of revenue dwarfs the current “payment adjustment” under the CMS EHR Incentive Program. The MU concept will pop up in a myriad of ways in the years ahead. The definition of MU and CEHRT will most assuredly be redefined but it is not dead or even suffering from a head cold.
Jim Tate is known as the most experienced authority on the CMS Meaningful Use (MU) audit and appeal process. His unique combination of skills has brought successful outcomes to hospitals at risk of having their CMS EHR incentives recouped. He led the first appeal challenge in the nation for a client hospital that had received a negative audit determination. That appeal was decided in favor of the hospital. He has also been successful in leading the effort to reverse a failed appeal, even after the hospital had received notification of the failure with the statement, “This decision is final and not subject to further appeal”. That “final” decision was reversed in less than a week. If you are a hospital with questions or concerns about the meaningful use audit process, contact him at: audits@emradvocate.com.