NOTE: CMS has since restored the website. Merely a week after CMS released its Aug. 31 Electronic Prescribing (e-Rx) Incentive Program final rule, the website providers must use to claim the four new and two established hardship exemptions is down since at least 9am EST.
QualityNet, the company that supports the e-Rx exemption website, reported that it is experiencing a system-wide connectivity issue which is also affecting the PQRI portal in a voice message recorded on the site’s helpline (see contact info below).
CMS has not yet returned a request for comment as to why the site is inoperable or if it was due to a system overload of too many providers using the site at once.
Just yesterday, the site was up and running and a Part B News subscriber was able to submit an exemption request here without a hitch.
When the site is back online, providers follow the link and are brought to a page with empty fields that must be populated with:
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Identifying information such as the tax ID number, national provider identifier (NPI), name, mailing address, and e-mail address of all affected eligible professionals.
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Any significant hardship exemption category that applies to your providers. NOTE: You will be able to choose exemptions similarly to the way you make selections on a multiple choice exam by clicking the applicable choices.
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A justification statement describing how compliance with the requirement for being a successful e- prescriber for the 2012 e-Rx payment adjustment during the reporting period results in hardship. NOTE: There is an essay field in which your 1000 maximum word statement can be placed.
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An attestation of the accuracy of the information provided.
After you submit your completed exemption request, you will see this:
"Your Hardship Exemption request has been received and is being processed. Please allow up to 30 days for processing. If you do not receive a response within 30 days of submitting your request, please contact the QualityNet Help Desk at qnetsupport@sdps.org or (866) 288-8912, (7am to 7pm CST, Monday through Friday).”