The waiting game

Mary Stevens, Editor

Are you anxiously awaiting CMS’ final word on meaningful use (MU)? Do you believe the feds will deliver at least some of the MU goods before spring turns to summer, as stated last winter? Although we’ve covered plenty of stakeholder comments and recommendations for changes since then, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has been comparatively quiet about when to expect a final ruling. Late spring was the official word. Now, late spring is on the verge of being early summer.

This may be on reason why ONC Chair David Blumenthal, MD, blogged about the necessity of tight timelines for health IT earlier this week. It’s also why many health IT journalists will spend Sunday with an eye on their newsfeeds.

Another SGR deadline loomed Friday. The Continuing Extension Act of 2010, enacted April 15, extended the zero percent update to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) through May 31. As this went to press, Congress hadn’t decided whether to eliminate the negative update –a 21 percent cut—that took effect June 1. CMS, meanwhile, was holding claims through Thursday, June 17, in the hope that the MPFS legislation would pass.

CMS directed its contractors to continue holding June 1 and later claims through June 17, lifting the hold on June 18—as the American Medical Association pointed out, “unless Congress sends legislation averting the cut to President Barack Obama for signature within the next few days, carriers will begin processing claims with the 21 percent cut on June 18.”

Meanwhile, out in the field, a KLAS study of CPOE systems finds U.S. hospitals have a long way to go to reach the federal government’s proposed standard of entering at least 10 percent of orders electronically. The report found that only 14 percent of all U.S. hospitals have achieved the expected 10 percent CPOE level required for stage 1 of meaningful use. Some finalized guidance is needed, and soon: KLAS found that some vendors’ clients will need to roll out CPOE more than 30 times faster than they have in the past year if all are to achieve CPOE adoption before July 1, 2011.

As the details of healthcare reform emerge, the links between meaningful use, health IT, coverage reform and payor industry business practice reforms are becoming more explicit, and payors should pay attention, says a CSC report.

“It’s important for health plans and payers to understand what the meaningful use challenge means to providers and hospitals, if they are to be able to identify the business risks and opportunities that are associated with it,” CSC stated.

This fits nicely with another report, this one from Thomson Reuters, which shows the healthcare industry can eliminate more than $3 trillion in waste during the next 10 years by addressing “operational inefficiencies,” including administrative inefficiencies, provider errors and inefficiencies, lack of care coordination, unnecessary care, preventable conditions and avoidable care, as well as fraud and abuse.

It’s a good time to say: “More on these stories as they develop.”

Mary Stevens, editor
[email protected]