what do you need to know about emr product certification?
What is EMR certification?
The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), established and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) HITECH Act, is in place to set initial standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for EHR technology under the CMS EHR Incentive Program. The ONC coordinates the standards required of EHR systems with the meaningful use objectives for eligible professionals (EPs) and hospitals. With the ONC standards in place, providers can be assured that the certified EHR technology they adopt is capable of performing the required functions to comply with CMS’ meaningful use objectives. To help standardize the meaningful use functionality that will be required from EMRs, the ONC established Approved Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCBs), such as CCHIT, to test and certify that an EMR functionality will allow providers to meet current meaningful use requirements.
Providers should verify EMR vendor commitment to ONC-ATCB certification
While there are over 400 EMRs to choose from in the industry, not every vendor has the resources or desire to certify its software through an ONC-ATCB. Providers interested in implementing EMR for the first time, and providers already using an EMR, should check with their current vendor to verify that their EMR is (or will be) certified in time to secure incentive reimbursement dollars in 2012 to ensure the provider will be eligible for maximum reimbursement throughout the life of the CMS EHR Incentive Program.
The first years of the CMS EHR Incentive Program focus on a set of core and menu set requirements providers need to meet, called Stage 1 Meaningful Use. Stage 1 is intended to focus on the electronic capture of health info and use of that info to track key clinical conditions, communicate data for improved care coordination and report clinical quality measures and public health information. Providers should also secure commitment from their vendor that the EMR will be certified throughout all the stages of meaningful use, including Stages 2 and 3, which run through 2015.
Registering for a program and proving meaningful use of a certifed EMR
Eligible providers interested in securing incentive program reimbursement will need to prove (attest to) the use of an EMR certified by an ONC-ATCB. Proving the use of a certified system, will require providers to simply access the ONC Certified Health IT Products List website and use the site search for their EMR. Providers will then use the website to generate a code, called the CHPL Code, which the provider will enter into their online CMS program registration application. Providers may register for an incentive program even if they are not currently using a certified EMR; simply leave the CHPL Code field in the application blank. Providers may access their CMS EHR Incentive Program registration at any time to update the field when they are working with a certified EMR and ready to begin the attestation phase to request reimbursement.
If you are already a MicroMD EMR client
As MicroMD EMR 7.5 and 7.6 have achieved ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 Complete EHR certification, clients may enter their CHPL Code in their registration now even if they are not currently upgraded to the certified version. Click here to access the MicroMD EMR "CMS" EHR Certification ID".
Please note that, for the Medicare program first payment year, providers must use the certified version of MicroMD EMR for 90 days consecutively in the first year in which an incentive payment is desired. In order to secure the maximum incentive across the life of the Medicare program, providers should complete their 90 days of consecutive meaningful use in 2012.
A final word on certification...providers need to be engaged
While an EMR needs to be ONC-ATCB certified to verify that it features the required functionality to help providers meet meaningful use, it is up to the individual provider to use the EMR in a meaningful way. EMR is simply a tool to help providers achieve meaningful use. Eligible providers and staff must make the commitment to ensure that the EMR is used in the required meaningfully way, consistently. A strong EMR implementation plan can help overcome the challenges of provider adoption and promote ongoing meaningful use. Successful implementation of your certified EMR software will involve more than just installing the software and training on how to use the wealth of standard features. Implementation to ensure achievement of meaningful use will require specific training in meaningful use functionality and the monitoring of users to ensure they are doing what will be required for incentive program attestation and the delivery of reimbursement.
Have questions, e-mail stimulus@micromd.com
