Stage 2 change to help dentists participate in MU
An interim final rule makes a change in a requirement of the 2014 Edition of EHRs that makes it easier for dentists and their software vendors to comply with Meaningful Use.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's interim rule will be published Nov. 4 with a 60-day comment period.
The “Common Meaningful Use Data Set” identifies 16 types of data and, where applicable, associated vocabularies, according to the interim final rule. The dataset requires that EHR technology represent procedures using SNOMED CT or a combination of the CPT-4 and HCPCS vocabularies but there is now the option for EHR vendors to represent procedures in either the Current Dental Terminology (CDT) or ICD-10-PCS.
Based on stakeholder feedback, ONC now has determined that CDT is best suited to represent dental procedures. According to the rule, the agency's fact-finding revealed that stakeholders feel that CDT is specifically designed for and used to represent dental procedures and that, although SNOMED CT and CPT-4/HCPCS as clinical terminologies are best for most other medical settings, those standards include few dental procedure codes. "Stakeholders indicated that CDT was far and above the best-suited standard to represent dental procedures because of its depth, breadth and specific focus on these unique types of procedures,” the rule reads.
Further, stakeholders said that the original wording of the requirement would cause undue burden and unnecessary work and costs for dental EHR vendors who would have to build SNOMED CT or CPT-4/HCPCS into their products even if these vocabularies are insufficient for representing dental procedures.
“We emphasize, however, that this limited revision to the regulation is intended only for EHR technology that has been primarily developed to record dental procedures,” ONC asserts in the rule. “In all other cases, EHR technology must continue to be tested and certified using SNOMED CT or CPT-4/HCPCS to represent procedures.”
The interim final rule is available here.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.