In a final rule published Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) updated its requirement that eligible providers must use 2014 Edition certified electronic health record (EHR) technology (CEHRT) to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs payments this year. Instead, they can now use the 2011 Edition CEHRT or a combination of 2011 and 2014 Edition CEHRT for an EHR reporting period in 2014.

Earlier this year, HHS had created a broad range of exceptions for providers who had run into challenges upgrading their EHR systems to meet 2014 Edition criteria. However, the timing of the rules creating the exceptions had created confusion about who exactly needed to file for exceptions and caused many providers to miss the filing deadline. By now allowing all eligible providers to use 2011 or a combination of 2011 and 2014 CEHRT for the 2014 reporting period, those who missed the filing deadline gain a reprieve.

Next year, however, all eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals must to use the 2014 Edition CEHRT. 



"We listened to stakeholder feedback and provided CEHRT flexibility for 2014 to help ensure providers can continue to participate in the EHR Incentive Programs forward," said Marilyn Tavenner, CMS administrator in a press release announcing the greater flexibility in Meaningful Use Stage 2. "We were excited to see that there is overwhelming support for this change."

The rule also finalizes the previously proposed change to extend Stage 2 through 2016 for certain providers and the delay of the start of Stage 3 to 2017 for providers who first became meaningful EHR users in 2011 or 2012.