CMS physician payment rule addresses EHRs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its physician payment rule in the Dec. 10 Federal Register.

The rule, effective Jan. 1, 2014, addresses changes to the physician fee schedule, clinical laboratory fee schedule and other Medicare Part B payment policies.

The rule does not require physicians to adopt EHRs, but it does tie their use to effective care management of chronic conditions. Specifically, the rule requires systematic assessment of each patient’s medical, functional and psychosocial needs to ensure timely receipt of recommended preventative services. As part of this, the rule states, “The provider should seek to reflect a full list of problems, medications and medication allergies in the EHR to inform the care plan, care coordination and ongoing clinical care.”

The CMS responded to some commenters who expressed concern about the rule’s requirement that members of a chronic care team who are involved in after hours care of a patient have access to a patient’s full EHR.

“Some commenters indicated that many practices will be using EHR systems that qualify for Meaningful Use Stage 2, but that they do not support 24/7 remote access. Some commenters suggested that the 24/7 EHR access requirement be changed to require that members of the chronic care team have access to timely EHR information (that is, through the EHR or other formats),” according to the rule.

Responding to the comments, CMS wrote that it intends to address this issue in future rulemaking to establish the standards.

To view the full rule, go here.