Eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting program and/or the Medicare EHR Incentive Program will have extra time for submission of electronic clinical quality measures. In a January 17, 2017 blog post, Kate Goodrich, MD, director of CMS’ Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, said those hospitals submitting eCQM data for the 2016 reporting period (pertaining to the FY 2018 payment determination) will now have until Monday, March 13, at 11:59 p.m. PT, rather than the last day of February.
Inpatient Prospective Payment System
CMS also has plans to make some modifications to eCQM requirements as laid out in the FY 2017 Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule. According to CMS, in order to help reduce reporting burdens while supporting the long-term goals of these programs, it intend to include proposals regarding the 2017 eCQM reporting requirements for the Hospital IQR and EHR Incentive Programs for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals in the FY 2018 IPPS proposed rule that we anticipate to be published in the late spring of 2017.
Specifically, in the FY 2018 IPPS proposed rule, CMS plans to address stakeholder concerns regarding challenges associated with hospitals transitioning to new EHR systems or products, upgrading to EHR technology certified to the 2015 Edition, modifying workflows, and addressing data element mapping, as well as the time allotted for hospitals to incorporate updates to eCQM specifications in 2017. CMS is also considering to propose in future rulemaking to modify the number of eCQMs required to be reported for 2017 as well as to shorten the eCQM reporting period.
Goodrich said CMS is also mulling a modification of the number of eCQMs that have to reported for 2017, and a potential shortening of the reporting period.
“We believe that these efforts reflect the commitment of CMS to create a health information technology infrastructure that elevates patient-centered care, improves health outcomes, and supports the healthcare providers who care for patients,” she wrote. “We continuously strive to work in partnership with hospitals and the provider community to improve quality of care and health outcomes of patients, reduce cost, and increase access to care.”
Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System
This comes as the final Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System rule for 2017 unveiled eased several requirements for participants in the Meaningful Use program. For 2016 and 2017, all returning participants to the program will only have to attest to the meaningful use of electronic health records for 90 consecutive days, as opposed to an entire year. CMS, in its proposed rule, called for a shortened reporting period for eligible providers (EP), eligible hospitals (EH) and critical access hospitals (CAH).
The rule also eliminates clinical decision support and computerized order entry objectives for EHs and CAHs under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program beginning in 2017. What’s more, CMS is finalizing an application process for a one-time significant hardship exception for EPs from penalties in 2018. The hardship is available to EPs new to the EHR program and who are transitioning to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Additionally, CMS notes that providers must demonstrate as part of Modified Stage 2 and Stage 3 of Meaningful Use that only a single patient viewed, downloaded and transmitted their records.
“These additions both increase flexibility, lower the reporting burden for providers and focus on the exchange of health information and using technology to support care,” CMS says in its announcement for the rule.