AHA urges CMS to improve EHR program

The AHA Friday urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to revise the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program framework to reflect experience and the need for flexibility, and delay new requirements until the health information exchange standards and infrastructure are mature. “To reach the goal of EHR adoption and use across a sizeable majority of eligible hospitals, critical access hospitals and eligible professionals, the EHR Incentive Program framework and timeframe must be reoriented to provide operational and strategic flexibility for participating providers to enable them to achieve our shared national vision of an e-enabled health care system,” wrote AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels, on the Stage 3 meaningful use final rule with comment. The letter includes specific recommendations to improve the structure of the program, increase flexibility and base meaningful use requirements on mature standards. Comments on the rule are due tomorrow.