HHS panel says ease 2011 meaningful use tests

By Mary Mosquera on GovernmentHealthit.com
Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A Health and Human Services advisory group today recommended the government abandon an “all or nothing” approach to its plan for offering doctors and hospitals financial incentives next year for getting electronic health record systems up and running.

In a meeting of HHS Health IT Policy Committee, members recommended the government relax some 2011 requirements for “meaningful use” of health IT in order to give providers more flexibility in qualifying for the plan in their first year of eligibility.

The Committee recommended providers be able to defer up to five proposed measures of meaningful use from 2011 to 2013. Six measures – including showing the ability to perform e-prescribing and providing patients an electronic copy of their heath records -- would remain fixed first year requirements.

Under the committee’s Feb. 17 proposal, providers would still have to meet 80 percent of the original meaningful use measures.

The shift would establish a common set of health IT functions among providers qualifying in the first year of eligibility while providing them options for ramping up for the new technology.

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