CCHIT concerned about timeline of proposed meaningful use objectives
The Certification Commission for Healthcare IT (CCHIT) has formally responded to the recommendations presented June 16 by the Meaningful Use Workgroup to the HIT Policy Committee, and expressed concerns about time windows required under the current proposed definition.
The CCHIT color coded each meaningful use objective, as follows:
Of the 22 meaningful use objectives proposed for 2011, the commission said that 14 were supported by current certification (although some had minor gaps in either ambulatory or inpatient settings), five represented minor gaps that are still achievable, and only three were judged to have major gaps.
As a result, CCHIT said "with some adjustments, the 2011 meaningful use objectives could present a realistic and achievable target relative to current EHR technology."
However, the commission questioned whether the EHR technologies "can be adopted and put into meaningful use in a timely way to meet the 2011-2012 incentives window is more difficult. The lag between a decision to invest in EHR technology and its full, meaningful use in a provider organization is one to five years at best, and more typically, three to five years."
As a result, the commission said that most of the measures proposed for 2011 would be "difficult to achieve" by providers who have not already begun EHR implementations.
Given current adoption levels, they noted that the incentives would only be available to a small percentage of providers, potentially provoking disillusionment and frustration with the ARRA incentive program. The commission also said that the proposed measures are "only relevant for a subset of healthcare providers and practices."
Therefore, CCHIT is recommending that "meaningful use measures be either simplified for 2011, or postponed until 2013. The intervening time may be used to develop consensus-based measures tailored to as many healthcare specialties and settings as possible."
The CCHIT color coded each meaningful use objective, as follows:
- Green denotes 2011 (and a few 2013) meaningful use objectives that are already fully supported by EHR systems with the most recent (08) CCHIT certification. Approximately 75 EHR products have achieved this standard, with products available for ambulatory, inpatient and emergency department settings.
- Yellow denotes objectives with minor gaps beyond the most recent (08) certification requirements, but still achievable in time for the 2011-2012 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) incentive window in the opinion of the CCHIT. In some cases the additional capabilities were already anticipated by its newest (09) criteria.
- Red indicates objectives that represent major gaps. They may be on the CCHIT "roadmap" for future years, but are not felt to be realistically achievable by the EHR market in time for the 2011-2012 ARRA incentive window. They may be achievable for the 2013-2014 window or later.
Of the 22 meaningful use objectives proposed for 2011, the commission said that 14 were supported by current certification (although some had minor gaps in either ambulatory or inpatient settings), five represented minor gaps that are still achievable, and only three were judged to have major gaps.
As a result, CCHIT said "with some adjustments, the 2011 meaningful use objectives could present a realistic and achievable target relative to current EHR technology."
However, the commission questioned whether the EHR technologies "can be adopted and put into meaningful use in a timely way to meet the 2011-2012 incentives window is more difficult. The lag between a decision to invest in EHR technology and its full, meaningful use in a provider organization is one to five years at best, and more typically, three to five years."
As a result, the commission said that most of the measures proposed for 2011 would be "difficult to achieve" by providers who have not already begun EHR implementations.
Given current adoption levels, they noted that the incentives would only be available to a small percentage of providers, potentially provoking disillusionment and frustration with the ARRA incentive program. The commission also said that the proposed measures are "only relevant for a subset of healthcare providers and practices."
Therefore, CCHIT is recommending that "meaningful use measures be either simplified for 2011, or postponed until 2013. The intervening time may be used to develop consensus-based measures tailored to as many healthcare specialties and settings as possible."