We hope so, because there is a lot to discuss.
Although Stage 3 of meaningful use isn’t here yet, it is already getting a lot of attention from physicians.
We can help your practice stay on top of the latest health care news, rules, regulations and trends. Subscribe to stay current and up to date on important matters that will impact your practice. (To subscribe to our blog Click Here).
The Stage 3 proposed rule has a lot of elements that are of interest. There are eight elements total, but the elements garnering the most interest include: quality reporting, clinical decision support and security risk analysis.
The proposed rule is more process based than Stages 1 and 2.
The changes in Stage 3 have a lot of providers nervous. One of the biggest changes in Stage 3 is the shift that separates certification and meaningful use.
This makes certification separate, and no longer centered around meaningful use.
But not everything is different.
What does Stage 3 have in common with Stage 1 and Stage 2?
Security risk analysis is key to all stages of meaningful use.
Risk analysis requires administrative, technical and physical safeguards. Your practice should already have a thorough HIPAA risk assessment in place, which acts as the ground work for Stage 3’s required security risk analysis.
We help our clients with their HIPAA risk assessments and their risk analysis plans to be able to attest for meaningful use.
The risk analysis requires you to know where your protected health information (PHI) is stored and how it is handled. Similar to risk assessments, this requires an inventory of devices.
But overall, Stage 3 attempts to back away from the clinical side of quality reporting. Stage 3 features more than rules. Like Stage 2, it offers order sets, templates, and guides to making decisions.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are expected to release the final rule changes to Stage 3 for 2015 – 2016 before Labor Day.
In our next blog post, we will keep you informed of related issues. To get this important information delivered directly to your mail box, Click here to Subscribe
Do you need help staying current and compliant with the latest laws, rules and regulations? We can help. To contact us about your practice’s HIPAA Risk Assessment, Stage 3 attestation, or about your other legal needs: CLICK HERE.
P.S. If you or your patients are interested in consumer healthcare issues, check out myhealthspin.com.
