CMS Releases Final Rule for Promoting Interoperability Program

Share

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released their Final Rule for the Promoting Interoperability Program formerly known as the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs.

CMS had previously published a Proposed Rule and a request for feedback from the public related to improving interoperability and the sharing of electronic medical records between providers, and between providers and patients, which we covered in a May blog post. CMS has stated that the purpose of the Final Rule is to “advance the agency’s priority of creating a patient-centered health care system by achieving greater price transparency, interoperability, and significant burden reduction so that hospitals can operate with better flexibility and patients have what they need to be active healthcare consumers.”

Continue reading “CMS Releases Final Rule for Promoting Interoperability Program”

Telehealth Reimbursement May Be Coming: CMS Proposes Payment for Virtual Visits and Review of Pre-Recorded Images

Share

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed reimbursements for certain telehealth services are a significant step forward for increasing access to telehealth services. The proposed revisions would benefit both providers and patients, allowing coverage for virtual visits and physician review of pre-recorded patient images and videos.

Continue reading “Telehealth Reimbursement May Be Coming: CMS Proposes Payment for Virtual Visits and Review of Pre-Recorded Images”

CMS Proposed Rule, Rebranding of Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records Incentives Program Shifts Focus to Interoperability and Patient Access

Share

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its Proposed Rule that, in major part, rebrands the previously known Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentives Program into the Promoting Interoperability Program. The rebrand shifts the focus of the program to ensure that providers facilitate patient access to their own health data, and  limit the burden on health care providers when it comes to monitoring clinical care using health technology.

Continue reading “CMS Proposed Rule, Rebranding of Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records Incentives Program Shifts Focus to Interoperability and Patient Access”

CMS Confirms Policy on Texting Patient Information among Healthcare Providers

Share

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a State Survey & Certification Memorandum effective immediately in order to clarify its position on texting patient information among health care providers.

Although CMS acknowledges that the use of texting to communicate with other members of a patient’s health care team has become a common and invaluable practice, it acknowledges that such practice risks noncompliance with the Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) or Conditions for Coverage (CfCs).  In order to text and comply with the CoPs or CfCs, CMS requires providers to use, maintain, and routinely assess secure, encrypted systems or platforms and minimize the risks to patient privacy and confidentiality per the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and other requirements under the CoPs or CfCs.

Continue reading “CMS Confirms Policy on Texting Patient Information among Healthcare Providers”

©2024 Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.
Privacy Policy