Key health IT stakeholders are criticizing the proposed rules for implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act which entails the so-called updated meaningful use program. Although CMS said the new rules are intended to boost flexibility, John Halamka, MD, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, writes the changes are still too complex, adding it's bad enough to encourage providers to leave the profession altogether.
In a post on The Health Care Blog, Dr. Halamka outlines the MACRA proposed rules and how the rules will affect health IT, namely requirements for reporting measures that will affect Medicare reimbursement. Key concerns include a short implementation timeline and a perceived overstepping of regulatory bounds by the ONC.
He writes the complexity of the rules is such that "no mere human will be able to understand them," adding that with so many requirements to maintain, a provider's ability to be empathic toward patients feels like an afterthought.
Dr. Halamka's outlook on MACRA is, overall, not optimistic.
"I'm guessing that many will see the…'advancing care information' requirements as creating more burden without enhancing workflow," Dr. Halamka writes. "As a practicing clinician for 30 years, I can honestly say that it's time to leave the profession if we stay on the current trajectory."
More articles on MACRA:
The road ahead: Regulatory updates for 2016
What's your MACRA track? 4 things to know about new details in CMS' proposed rule
MACRA proposed rules provide some clarity, but questions remain