Remember that the incentive program begins in 2011, but you have until October of 2012 to begin reporting to receive the full incentive amount.
4) Get your team on board and develop a plan.
Meet with your clinical and administrative team to assess and identify internal barriers to EHR utilization and meaningful use. Review your practice’s workflow and utilization of the EHR system. Is everyone consistently and fully using the EHR system? What data is collected and where? Develop an approach and prioritized roadmap, along with estimated costs, to achieve the meaningful use requirements.
Read the ACR’s Meaningful Use Guide for Rheumatologists at www.rheumatology.org/HIT for information on developing a plan.
5) Use meaningfully.
Begin to utilize the EHR, tracking all meaningful use objectives. Your practice team is your greatest asset in successfully meeting the meaningful use criteria and metrics; ongoing attention to their role in the EHR utilization and the meaningful use program is worthwhile. Coordinate check-ins and regular assessments as well as development and training when necessary, and maintain a high level of continuity throughout the practice.
Quality Measures White Paper
Defining quality of care in rheumatology: The American College of Rheumatology white paper on quality measurement, published in Arthritis Care & Rheumatism (2011;63:2-9), synthesizes the information most relevant to the ACR membership regarding quality measurement and provides a consensus-based set of criteria for the review of quality measures submitted to the ACR for approval. The criteria guide measure developers and discourage adoption of subpar measures.
For more information about the White Paper and the ACR’s quality measurement initiatives, visit www.rheumatology.org/practice.
6) Register, report, and improve.
Register for the incentive program at www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms. Keep in mind that the five-year payment timeframe begins as soon as you register for the Medicare program, so wait until you are ready to report and submit attestation for meaningful use before registering.
Make sure you meet all the EHR meaningful use objectives applicable to your practice, and, for objectives with numerical thresholds, that you are attaining the levels specified. If your EHR system is certified EHR technology, it should be capable of support all Stage 1 Meaningful Use Objectives. Monitor the CMS website on EHR Incentive Programs to determine the format of the attestation for 2011. Keep in mind that accuracy is paramount—attesting to EHR meaningful use is making a claim to a federal program.
7) Influence rulemaking and guidance.
As you implement meaningful use, keep the ACR posted. We want to hear about any issues that you have, as well as best practices that you can pass on to others. We will be tracking your experience and concerns and will use them as we work with the ONC and CMS on Stage 2 and 3 final rules and guidance.