CMS walked through electronic health record (EHR) attestation in a conference call Tuesday, easing some provider concerns.
CMS released the online EHR attestation system in late April and instructed providers step-by-step on how to use the system during the conference call. There have been over 35,000 eligible attestations so far this year, CMS said. But the brevity of the instructional part of the call was offset by the volume of questions providers still had about the process. Here are some points CMS made clearer during the call:
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Attesters must double-check entries for errors to avoid rejection and inaccurate“failing” core measures. The system will not tell you when you’ve entered incorrect or invalid information, CMS said. NOTE: As mentioned in an earlier Part B News story (PBN 05/02/11), CMS is aware of a “glitch” in the online attestation system in measure 4 (incorporate clinical lab-test results into EHR as structured data). The system only recognizes values higher than 40.5% as passing the core meaningful use measures, despite the rule stating you need at least 40% to qualify. CMS says they will work swiftly to address the issue.
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You don’t have to worry if an error is made, or if your application is rejected, CMS said. You can resubmit your application almost immediately after you fix the mistake. There is no waiting period or cap on the number of times you can resubmit once official attestation has taken place.
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You can register for the online EHR system even if you do not plan to attest this year.
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Percentage based measures must include patients who were not captured through EHR. Example: Patients referred to you by another provider without an EHR system.
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The person who registers for EHR attestation does not have to attest, CMS said. Someone else can attest as long as they are listed as an authorized user.
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If you are attesting for an emergency department only you still must include the sum total of all inpatients and emergency department patients in the denominator.
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CMS said that there is no information available for Stages II and III of EHR attestation and that information won’t be available until later this year.
Remember: If you plan to attest this year, you can report through Oct. 1. Also, you can do a dry run before officially attesting by using the meaningful use calculator.