EHR Attestation: Choose The Right Electronic Health Records Technology To Qualify For Meaningful Use

Many healthcare practices have no idea where to begin when considering Medicare reimbursements via the HITEC Act’s Meaningful Use program.

Start the Verification Process at Stage 1: 

Electronic Health Records (EHR) Attestation is the first hurdle in qualifying for meaningful use with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). There are many criteria that a provider is required to meet in order to attest to use of certified EHR technology as part of their practice.  A medical practice must identify the certified EHR technology they are employing and submit reports on product use to be designated as an EHR-eligible provider and will then be required to provide attestation through a secure medium in 2012.

Eligible providers must also register their intent to seek incentive reimbursements prior to EHR attestation. For more information on EHR attestation criteria, meaningful use and EHR incentive programs, visit the CMS web site.

Beginning in 2011, a web-based registration process was launched on the CMS web site. Eligible providers simply input the following information when registering.

• Name, practice address and business phone
• Tax Identification Number (TIN) to where you want the incentive payment made.
• All Medicare eligible providers must be enrolled in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS)

During the EHR attestation process, what Information will CMS require? 

To meet Stage 1 qualifications, at least 80% of your patients must have their records filed utilizing certified electronic health records technology. Your web-based medical billing service should provide reports that show your percentage of system usage for each of the Core and Alternate Core measures. As an eligible practice, you’ll be required to report on at least 20 of 25 meaningful use (MU) objectives. Your billing service’s EHR system should provide reports that attest to your use of EHR technology.

Your staff must be capable of performing and reposting the results of a complex calculation required by CMS that is called a “percentage base response”. The determining factors will be the total number of unique patient visits for the reporting period, combined with treatments rendered on behalf of patients whose records are kept using certified EHR technology. Additionally, your medical billing service’s electronic health records technology will need to provide a report on the Clinical Quality Measures you have specified to use for your Stage 1 EHR attestation requirements.

Once you’ve attested to the use of EHR technology, how soon will your practice collect reimbursements from CMS?

Medical practices began registering their intent to use certified EHR technology in early 2011. Then, CMS launched their Meaningful Use Attestation Portal in April of 2011. A useful link is available from the Official Web Site for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. CMS began distributing payments in mid-May of 2011 for those attesting in April 2011. CMS payments – on average – take 15-45 days to process, following validated and attested use of your certified EHR technology.

For more information on how EHR technology can reimburse your practice through meaningful use validation or to learn more about our web-hosted medical billing service, please visit the medical billing experts at: www.experics.com or call 772-494-2700. There is no obligation and no high-pressure sale tactics, just professional advice and answers. You have nothing to lose and everything to learn.