More pressure on feds to release MU final rule

An association of EHR vendors is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to rapidly finalize the 2014 Meaningful Use (MU) rule regarding reporting requirements and to delay the start of Stage 3 until at least 2018.

Earlier this year, the agencies had released a proposed rule giving providers an extra year to upgrade their EHR systems to meet MU Stage 2 reporting requirements.

“We note that, due to time constraints, we anticipate that many physicians and hospitals will make decisions based on the proposed rule, as seems to have been your intent. We urge that these already-made decisions be considered as you finalize this rule, and that no changes be made in the final rule that would prove problematic for those who acted in good faith based on the proposed rule,” according to HIMSS EHR Association’s letter to both agencies.

In its comments, the association also recommended that CMS finalize MU Stage 3 to begin no earlier than 2018.

“This revised timing will permit more time for regulatory work as well as the EHR development and implementation that will be needed for a successful conclusion of the program. If Stage 3 begins in 2017, a significantly smaller scope than in Stages 1-2 is needed to be even potentially feasible in the proposed timeframe, but still with likely risks associated with compressed timing,” wrote the association.

Read the letter here.