EHR Regs Accentuate Access
By
John Pulley
The federal government's proposed regulations for "next level" electronic health record performance will emphasize patients' electronic access to their health records and enhanced sharing of information throughout "transitions of care."
The new Stage 2 meaningful-use guidelines propose that eligible health care providers meet, or qualify for an exclusion to, 17 core objectives and three of five menu objectives, according to the executive summary of the 455-page document. Hospitals would need to meet or receive an exclusion to 16 core objectives and two of four menu objectives. Under the Stage 1 guidance, hospitals and providers had to meet or gain an exemption to all of the core objectives and five out of 10 menu objectives. Most of the core and menu objectives from Stage 1 will carry over into Stage 2, the summary states.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health released the guidelines late Thursday. ONC is part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers EHR incentive programs tied to meeting the meaningful-use requirements. The proposed regulation was published in the Federal Register.
The Stage 1 core objective dealing with "exchange of key clinical information" will be replaced by a "more robust" goal addressing transitions of care. ONC wants health records to follow patients as they transition from a hospital to a skilled-care facility, home care or other health care option.
Likewise, Stage 2 would include a core objective for giving patients electronic or online access to their health records. The Stage 1 guidance called for providing patients with an electronic copy of their health information, according to the executive summary. The new guidance encourages more interactivity.
Additionally, "multiple Stage 1 objectives ... would be combined into more unified Stage 2 objectives, with a subsequent rise in the measure threshold that providers must achieve for each objective that has been retained from Stage 1."
In a news conference Friday morning in Las Vegas, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, who leads ONC, also noted that the Stage 2 guidance allows specialists to select menu items relevant to their practices, FierceHealthIT.com reported. Providers also will be able to send data to CMS in large groups rather than sending a separate report for each physician, according to the website. Mostashari was in Las Vegas for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference.
Providers can use EHRs certified under Stage 1 guidance through 2013, Mostashari said. They can select the Stage 2 enhancements they need, as long as they meet the necessary base requirements, FierceHealthIT reported.