Health Information Compliance Alert

Question: We are still not able to meet the meaningful use (MU) requirements this year. What can we do?

Answer: You’re in luck, because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it has reopened submission for hardship exception applications. CMS also extended the deadline for applications until Nov. 30, 2014 at 11:59 pm EST. 

You’ll enjoy this reprieve if you’re an eligible professional (EP) or eligible hospital (EH) and haven’t demonstrated MU of Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) for 2014, said associate attorney Jefferson Lin in an Oct. 23 blog posting for the law firm Ogden Murphy Wallace Attorneys. Specifically, you can take advantage of the reopened hardship exception application submission period and extended deadline if you:

• Have been unable to fully implement 2013 Edition CEHRT due to delays in availability; AND
• Were unable to attest by Oct. 1, 2014 (for EPs) or by July 1, 2014 (for EHs) using the flexibility options provided in the CMS 2014 CEHRT Flexibility Rule.

Resources: You can access the hardship exception extension application at www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/HardshipExtension_Application.pdf. For more information on the hardship exception, go to www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/PaymentAdj_Hardship.html.