Rumors on the release date for CMS's final meaningful use rule have been circulating for the last few weeks, with most educated guesses coalescing around July 16 as the latest date. These guesses are coming from some very well-informed folks who will speak at our live conference on electronic health records (EHRs), so I decided to see if they were on target. Earlier this week, I fired off an email to some folks I know at the HHS Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to see what they were willing to say.
Could we expect the final meaningful use rule to come out between now and the first two weeks of July, I asked? "Grant. Your general timeframe ... is our current expectations," was the reply I got.
So it's official: You can fully expect the final meaningful use rule to be out sometime in the next three weeks. Now, this rule is not to be confused with the final rule that was just released on the temporary EHR certification program, which basically lays out what guidelines must be followed by organizations wishing to certify EHRs as meeting the final meaningful use rules, whatever they may be.
For more on the final EHR certification rule, check out my previous story on the proposed version of this rule (not much changed in the final, experts say).