It's Here--The Final Rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use Has Arrived
Recently, CMS stated to expect the Final Rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use to be issued in the first week of September 2012. However, the tweets and RSS feeds began buzzing this morning, and the Final Rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use has been released. A copy of the 672-page regulation can be found at https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2012-21050.pdf.
After we've had a chance to dive into all 672 pages, we will bring you all the details you need to know to plan for Stage 2 Meaningful Use. For now, we've read the executive summary of the final rule and broken down the highlights.
For eligible professionals (EPs) the highlights include:
- Stage 2 officially launches in CY2014
- EPs must meet 17 core measures and 3 of 6 menu measures
- Nearly all Stage 1 core and menu measures are retained for Stage 2
- Stage 1 “Exchange of key Clinical Information” has been replaced with a most robust “Transitions of Care” core measure in Stage 2
- Stage 1 “Provide Patient with Electronic Copy of Health Information” was replaced with “View Online, Download and Transmit” core measure
- Several Stage 1 measures were consolidated in unified Stage 2 measures with increased thresholds
- Clinical Quality Measure (CQM) reporting will be electronic and include 9 measures from at least 3 National Quality Strategy domains, picked from a list of 64
- Includes a set of 9 core adult CQMs focused on blood pressure control
- Includes a set of 9 core pediatric CQMs
- Includes aggregated electronic/patient-level submission through PQRS
- To avoid payment adjustments that start in 2015, EPs must have registered and demonstrated meaningful use at least 3 months prior to the end of the calendar year (end of September 2014).
Stay tuned for a more robust look at the details of the rule to come--we'll be bringing you this information as soon as possible. We will also be offering educational sessions on the final rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use during our monthly Lunch and Learn in September.