Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) applauded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Thursday for agreeing to shorten the electronic health records (EHR) reporting period to 90 days in 2015.
The shortened reporting period was one of the recommendations made in the Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015, which Ellmers sponsored.
“I commend CMS on (its) announcement today and am pleased to see (it) implement the 90-day reporting period as was suggested in the Flex-IT Act,” Ellmers said. “I’ve heard the pleas from physicians, hospitals and health care providers in North Carolina, and I am relieved to see CMS addressing the need for a 90-day reporting period in 2015. The additional time and flexibility afforded by these modifications will help hundreds of thousands of providers meet Stage 2 requirements in an effective and safe manner.”
In addition to shortening the EHR reporting period, other CMS changes include the realignment of hospital EHR reporting periods to the calendar year, and the modification of several aspects of the program in order to match long-term goals, reduce complexity and lessen providers’ reporting burdens. The changes are expected to take place in the spring.
“The Meaningful Use Program is vital to bringing our health care system into the 21st century, and it is necessary to digitizing patient data so that it can be accessed more efficiently,” Ellmers continued. “I am grateful for the work of my colleague, Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI), and I look forward to working with CMS and the Energy & Commerce Committee to ensure the long-term success of this important program.”
In its entirety, the Flex-IT Act will allow medical providers an option of choosing a qualifying three-month quarter for an EHR reporting period in order to meet the requirements of the Meaningful Use Program in 2015, instead of the normal full year. An abbreviated reporting period is seen as critical in acknowledging the barriers faced by health providers attempting to maintain patient safety with the strict policies that are currently in place.