The HIMSS EHR Association this week sent a letter asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to extend the comment period on the proposed rule Enhance interoperability and improve the pre-authorization process by at least 45 days.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
On January 21, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT issued a request for information on its standards, specifications, and certification criteria.
The ONC said with RFI Patient Interactions, Information Sharing and Public Health Interoperability, the agency seeks to reduce the administrative burden on patients, providers and payers.
“The industry has been waiting for the above proposed ONC regulation since last year,” according to the letter signed by David Bucciferro, EHRA president and advisor at Foothold Technology, and Dr. William Hayes, EHRA vice president and director director of health and CPSI.
“We understand it will include requirements for medical IT providers in relation to supporting some of our customer obligations under the Interoperability and Pre-Authorization proposals. of CMS,” they added. “Without a clear understanding of the impending obligations of EHR developers, it is not possible for the EHR Association, its member companies or our customers to provide a robust, appropriate response for the CMS recommended rule.”
TREND TO BIGGER WOMAN
CMS is releasing a pre-authorization standard rule to speed up the time it takes for payers to approve claims and implement the HL7 FHIR standards.
The process could save eligible doctors and hospitals more than $15 billion over a 10-year period, according to the agency’s announcement in December – ahead of the ONC’s proposed rule announcement.
CMS has suggested a March 13 comment deadline, and vendors have been supportive of developing the rule.
“The [American Hospital Association] commends CMS for taking important steps to remove inappropriate barriers to patient care by streamlining the pre-authorization process for some health plans,” Ashley Thompson , said AHA senior vice president, analysis and public policy development.
Many health IT stakeholders have emphasized that they would like to see CMS encourage the use of the latest information sharing standards in the coming year.
Tom Leary, senior vice president and head of government relations at HIMSS, the parent company of HIMSS, said: “Make sure that what ONC is proposing, the CMS is built on top of that and doesn’t give it away. we go in a different direction in terms of interoperability.” Healthcare IT News.
ON PROFILE
“We strongly urge CMS to delay your proposed rule comment deadline to allow all stakeholders to consider the critical context of ONC’s requirements for the technology our customers seek. I will use to comply with CMS rules,” EHRA officials said in a letter to CMS.
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
