In its response to the recently released proposed 2015 Edition criteria for electronic health records, the American Hospital Association is urging the ONC to refocus its attention on 2014 Edition criteria and working with CMS to ensure providers have certified software in time to comply with the current meaningful use timeline.
The transition to 2014 Edition-certified systems has proven "disruptive" to hospitals, according to a letter from the AHA to National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo, MD. Many hospitals are still waiting on the 2014 Edition of their vendor's software and will be facing a time crunch to have the software installed and running this fiscal year as required by meaningful use.
Therefore, the ONC's focus now should be on 2014, not 2015, according to the AHA. "At this halfway point in the first year for stage 2, we strongly urge ONC to work with CMS to assess the number of Medicare EHR Incentive Program participants to date, the number that have attested to stage 2 and to swiftly publish guidance that informs hospitals how any relief, including 2014 hardship exceptions from the attestation requirement, will be operationalized," the letter stated. "Publishing such guidance will address an immediate problem and will be more beneficial to providers than consideration of certification criteria applicable in FY 2015."
In the letter, the AHA also urged ONC and CMS to allow stage 1 attesters to use 2011 Edition certified software, extend the stage 2 attestation period to 2015 and reevaluate the meaningful use timeline as a whole to find places for additional flexibility that would help providers implement EHRs completely and safely.
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