Comment Now: NIST Meaningful Use Certification Test Procedures

Dear Colleagues, 

The syndromic surveillance Test Procedure and tools for the 2014 Edition EHR certification criteria are now available for public comment. The finalized Test Procedures will be used by ONC-approved Testing Bodies to certify EHR technology for electronic Meaningful Use syndromic surveillance reporting. This review process is a crucial step in ensuring that eligible healthcare professionals and hospitals use certified technology to fulfill the Meaningful Use requirements set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ISDS has worked to develop these draft Test Procedures and tools in partnership with Agilex Technologies, Inc to support the ONC, CDC, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in this effort. 

Please review and comment on the draft Test Procedures by October 12, 2012 before they are finalized. You may submit comments to Robert Snelick at robert.snelick@nist.gov or to ONC.Certification@hhs.gov with "2014 Test Methods" in the subject line. Finalized testing procedures, with the incorporated public comments, will be released in early 2013. You may find the draft Test Procedures here http://lri.sipilotdevelopment.org/mu-syndromic. 

Join ISDS on Thursday, October 11 from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT to learn more about the Test Procedures during an ISDS-hosted webinar. Robert Snelick, of NIST, and Sheryl Taylor, of Booz Allen Hamilton, will present the syndromic surveillance draft Test Procedures and certification criteria and encourage participants to offer feedback.

You may also learn more about this process on the ONC website: http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/2014-edition-draft-test-methods. 

Sincerely, 

ISDS

ONC and CMS Release EHR Stage 2 Rules

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

News Division                                   

202-690-6343

media@hhs.gov

www.hhs.gov/news

News Release: Thursday, August 23, 2012

HHS announces next steps to promote use of electronic health records and health information exchange

Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the next steps in the Obama administration’s work to help doctors and hospitals use electronic health records.

“The changes we’re announcing today will lead to more coordination of patient care, reduced medical errors, elimination of duplicate screenings and tests and greater patient engagement in their own care,” Secretary Sebelius said.

Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, doctors, health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt and meaningfully use certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.

More than 120,000 eligible health care professionals and more than 3,300 hospitals have qualified to participate in the program and receive an incentive payment since it began in January 2011. That exceeds a 100,000 goal set earlier this year.

That includes more than half of all eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals and 1 out of every 5 eligible health care professionals.  The program is divided into three stages:

• Stage 1 sets the basic functionalities electronic health records must include such as capturing data electronically and providing patients with electronic copies of health information.
• Stage 2 (which will begin as early as 2014) increases health information exchange between providers and promotes patient engagement by giving patients secure online access to their health information.
• Stage 3 will continue to expand meaningful use objectives to improve health care outcomes.
  

Today, HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released final requirements for stage 2 that hospitals and health care providers must meet in order to qualify for incentives during the second stage of the program, and criteria that electronic health records must meet to achieve certification.

The requirements announced today:

• Make clear that stage two of the program will begin as early as 2014. No providers will be required to follow the Stage 2 requirements outlined today before 2014.
• Outline the certification criteria for the certification of EHR technology, so eligible professionals and hospitals may be assured that the systems they use will work, help them meaningfully use health information technology, and qualify for incentive payments.
• Modify the certification program to cut red tape and make the certification process more efficient.
• Allow current “2011 Edition Certified EHR Technology” to be used until 2014.

The CMS final rule also provides a flexible reporting period for 2014 to give providers sufficient time to adopt or upgrade to the latest EHR technology certified for 2014.

A fact sheet on CMS’s final rule is available at http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp.

A detailed fact sheet on ONC’s standards and certification criteria final rule is available at http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification.

The final rules announced today may be viewed at http://www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1. More information on the Stage 2 rule can be found at the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website at www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms.

Last Day to Comment: ISDS MU Guidelines

Today, Tuesday July 3rd, is the final day to provide comments on the ISDS Revised Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data. This is your last opportunity to provide input that will inform ISDS's Meaningful Use recommendations that will be made to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).


View the Revised Guidelines: http://www.syndromic.org/uploads/files/RevisedGuidelinesforSS.pdf
View the Guidelines FAQ: http://www.syndromic.org/uploads/files/GuidelinesFAQ.pdf 


You can also view the presentation below for a summary of the key parts of the Guidelines to help inform your comments. 

Revised Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data on Prezi

Ways to Comment
1. On-line Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ISDSRevisedGuidelines2012
2. Email your comments to Becky Zwickl, MPH, ISDS Public Health Analyst at bzwickl@syndromic.org.

Joint Public Health and Meaningful Use Nationwide Call

In an effort to better inform the public health practice community about the funding opportunities made available through CMS and state Medicaid programs, JPHIT will be co-sponsoring a webinar with the ONC, CDC, and CMS that features Kentucky's use of these funds. The funds are available to public health, health information exchanges, and other principally to support one-time infrastructure costs. 


The National Governors Association has prepared a fact sheet on the purpose and process of this new Medicaid funding mechanism.


This event wil take place on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT.


The agenda for this meeting will be: 


1. 10 minutes – Announcements and Introduction (CDC, ONC or CMS)


Directors - Laura Conn (CDC), and Jim Daniel (ONC)


2. 40 minutes – Presentation:  “HIE & Public Health Meaningful Use Measures ”


Multiple Presenters: Polly Mullins Bentley, Acting Executive Director, KY Governor’s Office of Electronic Health Information  (State HIT Coordinator), Karen Chrisman, KHIE’s Staff Attorney, April Smith, KHIE’s Project Manager, N. Brennan O’Banion, Ph.Dc, KHIE’s Public Health Consultant, and Robert Nowell, Director of Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, KY Department for Medicaid Services 


This presentation will showcase the established and planned value-added service layers of the Kentucky Health Information Exchange that support public health reporting and Meaningful Use Measures. 


3. 10 minutes - Question and Answer Session 


Below is the WebEx information to join the call: 


Topic: Joint Public Health and Meaningful Use Nationwide Call
Host: Shirilyn Njie
Date and Time: Thursday, June 21, 2012 3:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)
Event number: 653 203 252
Event password: PHMU*614
Event address for attendees: https://westat.webex.com/westat/onstage/g.php?d=653203252&t=a


To view in other time zones or languages, please click the link: https://westat.webex.com/westat/onstage/g.php?d=653203252&t=a&EA=shirilynnjie%40westat.com&ET=4ff36a3a453ba159d97d3955660b6a62&ETR=b50d8ffe2b4a54b522cfab73907be283&ORT=MiMxMQ==&p
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To join the teleconference only
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To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the event, or call the number below and enter the access code.
Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-429-3300
Global call-in numbers: https://westat.webex.com/westat/globalcallin.php?serviceType=EC&ED=193383127&tollFree=1
Access code: 653 203 252

ISDS NPRM for Stage 2 Comments

ISDS would like to share the final ISDS comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Notices of Proposed Rule Making (NPRMs) for Stage 2 Meaningful Use. The ONC and CMS published their NPRMs with the federal registrar for a 60 day public inspection period, during which time they asked for stakeholder comments and feedback. As an opportunity to represent the ISDS community of public health practitioners, ISDS staff and stakeholders developed two response letters to CMS and ONC. You may view the final versions of the ISDS comments below:

ISDS Comments to CMS
ISDS Comments to ONC

The ISDS staff would like to thank the Public Health Practice Committee, Distribute Community of Practice Members, ISDS Board of Directors, and other society affiliates for providing feedback on the ISDS letters. This collaboration was a crucial element in strengthening the ISDS comments and ensuring society representation.


If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail meaningfuluse@syndromic.org. 

Proposed Rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use NPRM

The Proposed Rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use has been Posted to the Federal Register; CMS Fact Sheet Provides Overview

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Stage 2 meaningful use was posted to the Office of the Federal Register today. The proposed rule outlines the next stage of meaningful use for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, which are administered by CMS. View the NPRM.

CMS has developed a fact sheet to give providers an overview of the rule and how Stage 2 expands upon Stage 1 of meaningful use. The fact sheet can be found on the EHR Incentive Programs website https://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC's) NPRM was delivered to the Federal Register on February 22 at the same time as the CMS NPRM, and the policy is finalized. Additional news about the ONC proposed rule will be released once it is posted and the rules will publish on the same day.

Learn more about meaningful use by going to the CMS EHR Meaningful Use Overview web page.

Want more information about the EHR Incentive Programs? Make sure to visit the EHR Incentive Programs website for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs.

Other useful CDC/PHIN links:

1) New "In the Spotlight" on both PHIN (www.cdc.gov/phin) and MU (www.cdc.gov/ehrmeaningfuluse) pages

2) New Cancer subpage under the PH Options on MU site.

3) Updated Guides page on both pages

4) Updated About Meaningful Use Intro page on MU page