New Technology Enables Anesthesiologists and Pain Management Specialists to Attest to Meaningful Use
On Thursday, August 23, 2012 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule on Stage 2 of the federal electronic health record (EHR) system incentive program.
ABC is very pleased to announce F1RSTUse, the first complete EHR platform built exclusively for anesthesiologists and pain management specialists to satisfy easily Stage 1 of Meaningful Use as required to earn the Medicare EHR incentive payment. Stage 1 requirements remain in effect for the next several years; one of the major changes of the August 23rd final rule was to extend the deadline to meet Stage 2 criteria until 2014. Other changes contained in the 672-page rule (PDF) will be reviewed in future Alerts.
The industry has been discussing the impracticality of attesting to Meaningful Use with current technologies and relationships that are in place for anesthesia. We at ABC also noted the lack of ease implementing this requirement for the specialty. Attestation was hampered due to major operational challenges—the fact that most Anesthesia Information Management Systems (AIMS) products certified for Meaningful Use have been classified as “Modular” rather than complete. Without a strategic shift in conceiving the practicality of a workable solution, it was not possible to meet all the objectives. This has now all changed.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), eligible providers are entitled to a maximum incentive of $44,000 each over four years if they use a certified electronic health record and meet certain criteria for Meaningful Use of an electronic health record. F1RSTUse is specifically tailored to help anesthesiologists enter, track and report the data needed to meet CMS’ guidelines.
How is ABC Able to Provide Meaningful Use EMRs?
ABC is now offering a software solution already certified as a “Complete EHR” for Meaningful Use.
There are three major differences with F1RSTUse that make this a viable and realistic solution for anesthesia.
- F1RSTUse is entirely web-based and requires no infrastructure support from the hospital, practice, or provider—regardless if you chart on paper or an electronic anesthesia record. Nor does the practice utilizing F1RSTUseneed to have an existing EMR in place.
- F1RSTUse combines the EHR technology with a Personal Health Record (PHR) system that is available to the patients and that enables anesthesiologists to offer the follow-up required by some of the Meaningful Use measures.
- All management activities are handled by ABC.
These three elements combined produce a suite of applications available to all of anesthesia to allow attestation for the Meaningful Use program.
As a web-based application, the infrastructure and deployment hurdles that face any software installation are largely eliminated. The vast majority of the data that is entered into the system is actually done after the case completes and by leveraging the ABC management process, there is very little impact on your current billing and documentation process.
F1RSTUse combines the data collection tools necessary for Meaningful Use along with a Personal Health Record (PHR) system. The unique combination of this web-based EHR and PHR is what makes this entire process possible. The PHR platform is available to all patients regardless of your interaction with them. This system provides a unique approach for patients to access their health record and to be able to better communicate and better understand their anesthesia care.
The onboarding process to F1RSTUse is quite simple. The first and most important element to the entire process is enrollment with the Meaningful Use program. ABC had previously recommended that all anesthesia providers register for Meaningful Use in case a solution becomes available in the future. That time has now come.
How to Make Meaningful Use Work for You
ABC is here to serve as your operational and management partner in this process. If you have already registered for Meaningful Use, please read on and follow the link at the bottom to go to the ABC website to complete the initial questionnaire. If you have not yet registered, you may do so by navigating to: https://ehrincentives.cms.gov/hitech/login.action and begin the process. Our staff can walk you through the process and if you allow us, we can register you as your authorized third-party.
What if I Already Have an AIMS at My Facility?
This system is not designed to replicate, or substitute for an anesthesia record during any patient care. In fact, this application works in harmony with any currently installed AIMS products. The primary focus of F1RSTUse is to navigate through the different “measures” associated with Meaningful Use and not to create conflicts or burden a provider or patient with additional work.
I’m Not a Current Billing Customer of ABC, is This Available to Me?
Absolutely. We are offering the F1RSTUse system to all interested parties—clients and non-clients alike. This platform is so transformative, that it must be available to all of anesthesia. We are cognizant of the need to provide an immediate solution that can be implemented quickly to allow providers to receive the maximum incentive payment of $44,000. In order to do that, ABC is offering this solution with no upfront capital investment from you, your practice, or your facility.
The F1RSTUse solution engages patients and providers in ways that haven’t been possible for anesthesia before. It allows patients to take their medical record wherever they go and allows them to automatically manage their health data. It allows providers and practices to showcase their expertise and collaborative approach to patient care.
We are delighted to offer the first Meaningful Use solution that can be adopted by the majority of practices in the anesthesia community. Anesthesia groups can easily adopt F1RSTUse with minimal changes to their current practices, allowing most to demonstrate Meaningful Use and earn the available government incentives. We want as many practices as possible to have implemented the system before the October 3rd deadline when the government incentives drop to a maximum of $39,000 per provider.
To Begin the Process (or to Get More Information), Please Go To: http://www.anesthesiallc.com/clinical-technology/meaningful-use for more information. You can also email our team atMeaningful.Use@AnesthesiaLLC.com and we will get back to you shortly. Please feel free to contact us at any time to discuss the Meaningful Use program, F1RSTUse, or any other element of the platform.