ILHITREC News Update: April 24, 2017

At the Forefront of Healthcare Transformation!  April 24, 2017 Medicaid Attestation Deadline 4/30/17 - No Anticipated Extensions ILHITREC encourages Providers to log-in to the IMPACT system now to make sure you can access the Electronic Health Record Medicaid Incentive Payment Program (eMIPP) in advance of the April 30, 2017 deadline set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This will allow you time to resolve any possible problems. At this time, no extensions to the April 30 deadline are anticipated. Providers can review the eMIPP Attestation Guide for step-by-step screenshots to assist you in the process. It takes 5 minutes per provider. If you need assistance, please contact us at info@ILHITREC.org.   Documentation Vital as Attestation Deadline Approaches ILHITREC reminds all qualifying providers to prepare yourselves with the proper supporting documents to avoid rejection as the April 30 deadline approaches for attesting for the Illinois Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program for the 2016 program year. Supporting documents that must be added to the Upload Document section of eMIPP to avoid rejection include: Those supporting active engagement with public health registries selected in Objective 10;  Those supporting Medicaid patient encounter volume entered in the eligibility section; and Those showing proof of acquisition of a certified EHR (required ONLY for AIU attestations). If you need assistance from ILHITREC, please contact us at  info@ILHITREC.org.   FY2018 Medicare Hospital and Long Term Acute Care Hospital Prospective Payment Systems Proposed Rule and Request for Information On April 14, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to update 2018 Medicare payment and policies when patients are admitted into hospitals.  The agency also released a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas for regulatory, policy, practice and procedural changes to better achieve transparency, flexibility, program simplification and innovation. The following resources offer more details: Complete Story on ILHITREC Website  CMS Fact Sheet on Proposed Rule  Federal Register Document Webinar May 4 on 2017 Medicaid Meaningful Use Requirements Please register now for ILHITREC's Webinar about "2017 Medicaid Meaningful Use Requirements." It will be held Thursday, May 4, 2017, from Noon-1 PM (CDT).  Register here.    The focus of this webinar is on 2017 Reporting Requirements for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program for Eligible Providers. More details about specific Measures explained during the Webinar will be included in upcoming editions of ILHITREC's Weekly News Update (see below). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. If you need assistance from ILHITREC, please contact us at info@ILHITREC.org.   ILHITREC Spotlight:  Focus on Meaningful Use Measures    [NOTE: This ILHITREC feature will regularly spotlight different Meaningful Use and other Measures] The Measure: Clinical Decision Support Objective of the Measure: Use clinical decision support to improve performance on high-priority health conditions. Attestation: Answer Yes or No or claim an Exclusion Measure Requirements: 1. MEASURE 1: EPs must attest YES to implementing five clinical decision support interventions related to four or more clinical quality measures at a relevant point in patient care for the entire EHR reporting period.     2. MEASURE 2: EPs must attest YES to enabling and implementing the functionality for drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks for the entire EHR reporting period.  Benefits of Clinical Decision Support: Improve Patient Safety Improve Quality of Care Identify drug-drug interactions Identify drug allergies Increase patient compliance Improve patient self-care Meet Meaningful use Tips and Resources: *Exclusion is available for Measure 2 if you prescribe less than 100 medications during the reporting period * Make sure 4 of the Quality measures you use for attestation are related to your clinical support interventions. An example would be if a provider reports their performance on A1C testing for their Diabetic patients then they would have an alert in their EMR that reminds them a patient is due for this test. *Drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction alerts are separate from the 5 clinical decision support interventions and do not count toward the 5 required for this first measure.   *A follow up audit would expect screen shots of this functionality in your EHR during the reporting period *Link to CMS Specification sheet for this measure    Reporting Period for Clinical Quality Measures is 365 Days for 2017 The Meaningful Use (MU) reporting period for 2017 is 90 contiguous days for the 10 functional measure objectives. The reporting period for Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs) is the full year (365 days). Most Eligible Professionals (EPs) will not attest until 2018 for 2017. The only exception is for EPs reporting on the MU measures for the first time, usually the first year after adopt, implement and upgrade (AIU). EPs at that status will report any continuous 90-day period for their CQMs. The date range can be the same 90 days as the MU reporting period or a different 90 days, as long as it occurs during 2017.    ILHITREC's Clinical Informatics Specialists advise the best practice is to monitor Meaningful Use and CQMs throughout the year. When you find a 90-day period in which the EP meets all functional measures, capture that data in your Electronic Health Record (EHR) or as a dated copy of the dashboard. You will then be ready to attest with full-year data on clinical quality measures when the year is complete. If you need assistance, please contact us at info@ILHITREC.org.