Final MU Stage 2 Rules Released

Modifications to Medicaid EHR Incentive Program

• Expands the definition of what constitutes a Medicaid patient encounter to include individuals enrolled in a Medicaid program, including Title XXI-funded Medicaid expansion encounters (but not separate Children's Health Insurance Programs encounters).
• Specifies the look back period for patient volume to be the 12 months preceding attestation and not the previous calendar year.
• Revises the definition of a children's hospital to include any separately certified hospital (freestanding or hospital within a hospital) that predominately treats individuals under age 21 that has been provided an alternative Medicare number in order to enroll in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

Online Information Access & Reminders

• Allows eligible hospitals and CAHs to withhold or remove information from online access if they believe substantial harm may arise from its disclosure online.
• Lowers from 40 percent to 10 percent the percentage of images ordered by providers' inpatient or emergency departments which must be accessible through a certified EHR.
• Requires providers to send patients reminders for preventive or follow-up care.

See Also:
Striving for Meaningful Use Stage 2