Becker's Hospital Review

Health Information Technology 5 Things to Know About the MU Extension By Helen Gregg I n December, CMS announced a one-year extension for meaningful use stage 2. Here are five things to know about the new timeline. 1. nder the revised timeline, stage 2 would be extended through 2016, and U stage 3 will begin in 2017 (fiscal year 2017 for hospitals, calendar year 2017 for physicians) for those that have completed two years of stage 2. 2. he extension has two main goals: to allow CMS and the Office of the T National Coordinator for Health IT to focus on successfully implementing the enhanced patient engagement, interoperability and health information requirements that are a part of stage 2 and to give the agencies time to use the data from stage 2 participation to inform policy decisions for stage 3. 3. he ONC has proposed 2015 edition certification criteria that would T address issues in the 2014 edition criteria as identified by industry stakeholders and help the industry move closer to complete interoperability. 4. ccording to CMS, the extended timeline is partly in response to comA ments from industry stakeholders. During the past several months, the Health Information Management Systems Society, American Hospital Association, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, Medical Group Management Association and 17 U.S. senators have all called for more time for healthcare organizations to attest to meaningful use stage 2. 5. ore information about stage 3 requirements and more detail about the M new attestation timeline are expected in the fall of 2014. n Health IT Employment Snapshot: EMR Technicians By Helen Gregg E lectronic medical record technician is one of the fastest-growing, nonclinical healthcare jobs, projected to grow 21 percent by 2020, according to a report from College for America. In 2010 U.S. hospitals and health systems employed 179,500 EMR technicians. By 2020, EMR technician employment is projected to be 217,300, due to an increase in the adoption and complexity of EMR systems. The average EMR technician salary is between $24,000 and $45,000 per year, depending on location and experience. The position typically requires completion of a certificate program or an associate's degree, focusing on coding, computer science, statistics, health data and legal issues surrounding protected health information. n 19 Bipartisan Legislation Would Create Federal Definition of Telehealth By Helen Gregg B ipartisan legislation introduced into the House of Representatives in December would both create a federal definition of telehealth as well as provide guidelines for states in developing telehealth governance policies. The Telehealth Modernization Act of 2013 was introduced by Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). The legislation aims to help provide clarity and standards for telehealth to foster its use around the country. "The Telehealth Modernization Act will create a nationwide telehealth definition to provide clarity regarding the scope of healthcare services that can be safely delivered via telehealth. The bill will spur innovation and research in the delivery of healthcare, while improving patient care and increasing efficiency," said Rep. Matsui in a news release. n ONC: The Most Commonly Used MU2-Ready EHR Vendors By Helen Gregg O f all eligible hospitals that attested to meaningful use stage 1, 84 percent used a primary vendor that has a 2014 edition certified product, according to a  report  from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The most commonly-used vendors for meaningful use attestation that are ready for stage 2 include: • editech (used by 20 percent of hospitals attesting to stage 1) M • erner (14 percent) C • pic (14 percent) E • omputer Programs and Systems (11 percent) C • cKesson (10 percent) M • ealthcare Management Systems (6 percent) H • llscripts (4 percent) n A

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