2015 CEHRT Promoting Interoperability Requirement for 2019

July 10, 2019

Beginning this electronic health record (EHR) reporting year (2019), all promoting interoperability (PI) program participants are required to use a 2015 edition of certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT). The 2015 CEHRT is intended to move to more up-to-date standards and functions that better support interoperable exchange of health information and improve clinical workflows. Your facility would not be able to attest to PI and … Read the rest

Medicare Hospital Hardship Exception Application for PY 2018

May 22, 2019

If your hospital did not attest and was unable to meet the Medicare Promoting Interoperability (PI) reporting requirements for the program year (PY) 2018 due to a significant hardship, your hospital may be eligible to submit for a hardship exception. If your facility meets the requirements and can provide proof for a significant hardship, your facility could avoid a negative payment adjustment.

Hardship Exception … Read the rest

Medicare Eligible Hospital 2019 Program Requirements for Promoting Interoperability

April 17, 2019

Now that the 2018 electronic health record (EHR) incentive program reporting period is closed for Promoting Interoperability (PI), you can begin working on the requirements for 2019 reporting. The 2019 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) program changes continue the advancement of Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT) utilization, focusing on burden reduction and improving interoperability and patient access to health information.

To start, … Read the rest

Medicare and Medicaid Attestation Submission Deadlines for 2018 Reporting

March 7, 2019

There is still time to finalize, submit and confirm your QualityNet (QNet) submission reports for your 2018 Promoting Interoperability (PI) attestation. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) and PI program submission and attestation deadline to March 14, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time for the calendar year 2018 Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) … Read the rest

Medicare and Medicaid Attestation Submission Deadlines for 2018 Reporting

February 13, 2019

Don’t miss the deadlines to submit your Promoting Interoperability (PI) Program data for 2018 (previously the E.H.R Incentive Program). Below are the important attestation submission deadlines.

Medicare 2018 Attestation Submission Dates:

• PI Reporting Submission Deadline Is February 28, 2019. The QualityNet Secure Portal (QNet) is open for 2018 PI attestations. Medicare-eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) will submit PI reporting data to

Final Reminders to Close Out the 2018 Reporting Year

December 19, 2018

2018 is coming to an end and so is the reporting time period for both the Medicaid and Medicare EHR Incentive Program/Promoting Interoperability. Be sure you have ALL of your documentation compiled and ready to submit when your state’s SLR (Medicaid) or QNet (Hospital Medicare) is open. For Medicaid SLR dates and deadlines, see our blog from 12/3, and for Medicare hospital … Read the rest

Medicaid Eligible Providers (EP) – Program Requirements and Important Deadlines for Promoting Interoperability (PI)

December 3, 2018

Below are the details for eligible providers attesting to the Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program for calendar year 2018, including last-minute tasks to complete before the end of the year and the State Level Registry (SLR) attestation submission deadlines.

For providers continuing to report PI under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, here are the requirements for … Read the rest

Medicare Eligible Hospital (EH)- Important Dates and Deadlines for Promoting Interoperability Attestation

November 1, 2018

Below are attestation dates and deadlines for eligible hospitals for the 2018 reporting year for Promoting Interoperability (PI). Also included are reporting reminders if you are in your 90-day reporting period.

Deadlines for EH Medicare PI:

• November 30th, 2018: Deadline for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to submit hardship exception forms based on the 2017 reporting year.
• January 2nd, 2019: QualityNet

October is the Last Chance to Start 90 day Reporting

September 14, 2018

October 3, 2018, is the last day to start your 90-day reporting period for the 2018 Promoting Interoperability program. Now is the time to evaluate your current state and prepare for your reporting period.
Important tasks for your 90 days:

1. Know what needs to be reported, Centers for Medical & Medicaid Services (CMS) reporting requirements for 2018 are here.
2. Know your

2018 EH CQM Reporting

August 8, 2018

New in 2018: For the Medicare Promoting Interoperability (PI) program (previously called the EHR Incentive Program), electronic submission of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) is required for all eligible hospitals. Manual attestation is only an option available for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) in specific circumstances when electronic reporting is not feasible. If your hospital needs to submit a manual attestation on the clinical quality … Read the rest

Promoting Interoperability – 2018 EP Medicaid Reporting

June 28, 2018, 2018

Written by Patty Kosednar

The 2018 program year for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, now called Promoting Interoperability (PI), is now underway. Providers who are eligible (EPs) for the Medicaid program can receive an incentive payment for up to six years. The Medicaid PI program runs through 2021 and the last year you could begin to report was 2016.

To prepare for 2018 reporting … Read the rest

New Name for MU: Promoting Interoperability (PI)

May 15, 2018, 2018

Written by Patty Kosednar

The Medicare/Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive program, formerly known as Meaningful Use, will now be known as Promoting Interoperability (PI). The new focus of the PI program is to be more flexible and less burdensome for providers and to improve interoperability and patients’ access to their health information.

The proposed changes to the PI program will NOT start until … Read the rest

2018 Meaningful Use Info for Eligible Hospitals

April 16, 2018, 2018

Written by Patty Kosednar

Now that the 2017 EHR Incentive Program (MU) reporting period is over for Medicare (some states may still be open for the Medicaid program), you can begin working on the requirements for 2018 reporting.
To start, become familiar with the 2018 EHR Incentive Program requirements and determine your program (Medicare/Medicaid) eligibility and what stage you will report to. Then run … Read the rest

New Medicare MU Attestation Deadline for Hospitals

February 27, 2018

Written by Patty Kosednar

Mountain-Pacific just received the announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extending the Meaningful Use (MU) attestation deadline for hospitals to March 16, 2018. Following is the entire announcement from CMS:

The Medicare eligible hospital and critical access hospital (CAH) attestation deadline has been changed from Wednesday, February 28, 2018, to Friday, March 16, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. … Read the rest

New Montana MU Attestation Time Frames for 2017 Reporting

January 24, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Due to development issues, the opening of the Montana Medicaid EHR Incentive Program State Level Registry (SLR) has been delayed. The time frame for submitting your 2017 attestations through the Montana SLR system will now open on 03/01/2018 and close on 05/31/2018.

The time frame for attesting to the Medicare EHR Incentive Program remains the same:

Medicare Program Attestation … Read the rest

Meaningful Use Attestation Time Frames for 2017 Reporting

December 27, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Below are the attestation deadlines for the 2017 reporting year for both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs (Medicaid information for Montana, Wyoming, Alaska and Hawaii)

Medicare EHR Incentive Program Attestation Timeframes:

• 01/1/18 –02/28/18 – For eligible hospitals. Hospitals must attest to the Medicare EHR via QualityNet. See our blog dated 11/6 for more information on how to attest

Meaningful Use Requirements for 2018

December 21, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

As 2017 comes to an end, it is time to look at the Meaningful Use requirements for 2018. On August 2, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that included changes to the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs for reporting year 2018. (Here is the CMS Fact Sheet that summarizes the final rule).

Following is a … Read the rest

2017 EHR Incentive Program Details for Hospitals

November 8, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Here are the details for eligible Hospitals attesting to either or both the Medicaid and Medicare EHR Incentive Programs for calendar year 2017.

2017 Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Summary

• Hospitals can choose to report requirements for Modified Stage 2 or Stage 3 (your choice).
• No alternate exclusions are available for Modified Stage 2.
• You must use 2015 or a

More Info on Hospitals MU Submission Via QNet

November 6, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Beginning January 2, 2018, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) attesting to the Medicare EHR Incentive program will submit their 2017 Medicare meaningful use (MU) attestations through the QualityNet Secure Portal (QNet).

Enroll and Update Your QNet Account

Beginning in October:

• Eligible hospitals and CAHs attesting to CMS (Medicare EHR Incentive Program)who are new to the QNet system

2017 Medicaid MU Details for Providers

November 7, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Here are the details for eligible providers attesting to the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program for calendar year 2017. Medicare eligible providers will now be reporting meaningful use (MU) under the Advancing Care Information category in MIPS. For providers continuing to report meaningful use under the Medicaid EHR Incentive programs, here are the requirements for 2017:

2017 Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Summary

• Providers

2017 MU How Are You Doing?

August 23, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Summer is going by quickly and so are your opportunities for choosing a 90-day period for 2017. Here are some reminders of what I recommend you work on for the 2017 EHR incentive programs:

To start with, the most important thing you can do right now is to run your 2017 meaningful use reports for all the threshold (non-yes/no) objectives and CQMs … Read the rest

Hospitals to Submit Medicare MU via QualityNet

August 16, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Medicare-Eligible Hospitals only—Hot off the Press—I received this via the CMS EHR listserv but was not able to find any more info on the CMS website, so I will copy it exactly from the email I received:

News Updates
Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals: Submit Meaningful Use Data to the Hospital Quality Reporting System (HQR) via the QualityNet Secure Portal … Read the rest

Choosing Your 90 Days

June 14, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Summer is finally here, and I’m sure all you are doing is relaxing, enjoying the sunshine and thinking about Meaningful Use (MU). Most of you are either in the middle implementing the upgrade of your electronic health record (EHR) to the 2015 version or in the middle of planning your upgrade.

If at all possible, I recommend you choose your 2017 Meaningful Use reporting … Read the rest

Link to 2017 MU Webinar Materials

April 24, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Happy Monday everyone. Thanks to all who participated on the 2017 EHR Incentive Program webinar we had last week. If you were unable to make it, or would like to review the materials, here is a link to the slide deck and recording.

The webinar covered the 2017 requirements for the Medicaid and Medicare programs for hospitals and the Medicaid program … Read the rest

CMS Announces Proposed Changes for MU 2017 and 2018

April 19, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

On April 14, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced proposed changes for the electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs for both 2017 and 2018 reporting years. This announcement includes changes to some other programs as well, so check out the full details on the CMS fact sheet.

Here is a summary of the proposed … Read the rest

After 2016 Medicaid EH Must Report Consecutive Years

April 18, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

This post is for Medicaid MU hospitals only. The original final rule for the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program-Stage 3 and Modifications to Meaningful Use in 2015 – 2017 states that no payments can be made to hospitals after 2016 unless the hospital has been paid in the previous year. Hospitals must receive payment on a consecutive, annual basis after … Read the rest

Montana SLR Open for EH 2016 Attestations

April 14, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

This post is for Montana Hospitals only. The Montana SLR is open (starting 4/15) for Medicaid Hospital attestations for 2016 Meaningful Use.

Montana hospitals may submit MU attestations for the 2016 Medicaid share of the electronic heath record incentive beginning April 15 through July 15, 2017.

While the SLR is not available for attestations until April 15th, you may verify registration … Read the rest

Get your 90 days in Before Your EHR Upgrade

April 10, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

All EHR Incentive Programs require an upgrade to the 2015 version of your EHR this year. As you know, that is a huge endeavor for your organization to take on. Do yourself a favor and choose your MU 90 day reporting period for BEFORE your upgrade. You will have enough issues to deal with after your upgrade; don’t make … Read the rest

Do You Still Have To Report to Both Programs?

April 3, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

This post is exclusively for dual-eligible hospitals and CAHs that have been reporting to BOTH the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive programs. As you may have heard, in 2017 the EH meaningful use requirements differ between the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive programs, adding to the complexity of monitoring and reporting.

It is possible that you may no longer … Read the rest

EH Task Checklist for 2017 Reporting

March 30, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

Our blog post on 3/24 included a MU checklist combining tasks for both EPs and EHs. This post contains a checklist of tasks exclusively for Eligible Hospitals, for 2017 Modified Stage 2 MU reporting. For the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, here is an Eligible Hospital checklist of the tasks you might use to help get you through the 2017 reporting … Read the rest

What Are MU Changes in 2017?

March 29, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

There are some changes in the 2017 EHR Incentive Programs requirements from last year. The main change is that Medicare eligible providers will now be reporting meaningful use under the Advancing Care Information category in MIPS. For providers and hospitals continuing to report meaningful use under the Medicaid/Medicare EHR Incentive programs, here are the changes for 2017:
For 2017 –

• Providers and

Task Checklist for 2017 Reporting

March 24, 2017

Written by Patty Kosednar

For the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, here is a checklist of the tasks you might use to help get you through the 2017 reporting year. Register for our 4/19 MU webinar, where we will cover all this information in more detail. We will also have blog posts throughout the year to provide additional information on the steps listed below:
2017 … Read the rest