2015 off to rocky start for MU

Meaningful Use (MU) is in the headlines again and not in a good way.

A recent survey indicates that more than half (55 percent) of physicians do not plan to attest to Stage 2 this year. Almost 2,000 members of SERMO, a social network for physicians, responded to the survey citing “patient engagement, lack of workflow usability and excessive time consumption” as their reasons for not attesting.

Meanwhile, amidst reports of low Stage 2 attestation, federal officials countered those reports during the Jan. 13 Health IT Policy Committee meeting, saying that the  majority of providers eligible to attest already have done so.

Dawn Heisey-Grove, public health analyst at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, pointed out that not all providers were permitted to attest to Stage 2 in 2014. To be eligible, providers must have completed two years of attestation for MU Stage 1. To date, only 56 percent of eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals and 42 percent of eligible professionals meet this threshold, she said.

As of the end of November, 16,455 eligible professionals and 1,681 eligible hospitals have attested for MU Stage 2 for 2014. When taken into consideration that not all providers were able to attest to Stage 2, these data reflect progress made in previous years, she said.

Nearly eight in 10 Stage 2-eligible hospitals have attested to MU Stage 2 as of the end of November. As attestations typically roll in last-minute, "we expect a lot more attestations to come in during December," Heisey-Grove said.

This week, legislators reintroduced the Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015, a bipartisan bill granting the nation's healthcare providers additional flexibility in meeting MU requirements through a shortened reporting period in 2015. Swift action by Congress is needed to help providers already in the 2015 reporting year for Meaningful Use, several healthcare organizations said who also praised the bill.

Officials from the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Healthcare Information Management Systems Society and Medical Group Management Association applaud the leadership shown by bill sponsor Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) and a bipartisan list of original cosponsors, including Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ron Kind (D-Wisc.), Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) and David Scott (D-Ga.).

"We commend the leadership demonstrated by a bipartisan group of House Members on this critically important issue," said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell. "With such across-the-aisle support, Congress has underscored how fundamental this program is to the future of healthcare in the U.S.

"While CHIME remains committed to the success of Meaningful Use, and to making sure improved patient care is the program's lasting legacy, we believe significant changes are needed to address increased dissatisfaction with EHRs and growing disenchantment with the program," Branzell added. "This bill, if passed, would begin that much-needed course correction."

Beth Walsh

Clinical Innovation + Technology editor