Proposed rule relaxes MU requirements, better aligns stages

A new proposed rule released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on April 10 aligns Meaningful Use Stages 1 and 2 objectives and measures with the long-term proposals for Stage 3 that aim to reduce complexity and simplify reporting.

These modifications would allow providers to focus more closely on the advanced use of certified EHR technology to support health information exchange and quality improvement, according to a release. 

The proposed rule is part of the Department of Health and Human Services' effort to deliver better care, spend health dollars more wisely, and have healthier people and communities by working in three core areas: improving the way providers are paid, improving the way care is delivered, and improving the way information is shared to support transparency for consumers, healthcare providers and researchers and to strengthen decision-making.

The proposed rule also simplifies the structure and reduces the reporting requirements for providers participating in the program by removing measures which have become duplicative, redundant and reached wide-spread adoption. This will allow providers to refocus on the advanced use objectives and measures which are "at the core of health IT-supported healthcare which drives toward improving the way electronic health information is shared among providers and with their patients, enhancing the ability to measure quality and set improvement goals, and ultimately improving the way healthcare is delivered and experienced," according to the release.

The proposed rule proposes the following:

• Reduce the overall number of objectives to focus on advanced use of EHRs;
• Remove measures that have become redundant, duplicative or have reached wide-spread adoption;
• Realign the reporting period beginning in 2015, so hospitals would participate on the calendar year instead of the fiscal year; and
• Allow a 90-day reporting period in 2015 to accommodate the implementation of these proposed changes in 2015.

The rule would support improved outcomes and measurement of those outcomes. By proposing to simplify the reporting requirements, the proposed rule would allow providers to focus on objectives that support advanced use of EHR technology, including quality measurement and quality improvement. The rule supports providers leveraging their resources and health IT to coordinate care for patients, to provide patients with access to their health information, and to support data collection in a format that can be shared across multiple healthcare organizations.

The proposed rule is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on April 15.