Meaningful Use Stage 3
With the push for 2017 being the year when Meaningful Use (MU) stage 3 takes effect, most EHR vendors are lining up their efforts in that direction. This will not only allow their provider user-base with an optional 90 day reporting period in 2017 but also allow providers to be ready to report for a full year in 2018 & onwards. Also, as Advancing Care Information (ACI) becomes a constituent of MACRA, the motivation for implementing MU3 changes is more than ever.
MACRA was drafted to tie up all the disconnected programs run by the US government under one umbrella, a reincarnation to enable the transition to value based care.
Value Based Care
MU3 isn’t the end of the road for healthcare providers; they will need to wait for some time to gain more clarity into do’s and don’ts of Value Based Care. Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) however, do have some clarity on what they need to do and the checklist is fairly clear when it comes to developing an MU3 certified EHR.
While it makes sense for the EHR vendors to figure out the shortest list of mandatory stuff they need to do, time is of essence.
Meaningful Use is more complex than it appears, and experienced players have already started strategizing and planning to face challenges up ahead.
MU3 takes up 25% of composite scoring under MIPS. If providers use Direct EHR for PQRS submission, then that adds another 50% of total 100% composite score under MIPS; which implies that EHR vendors need to rush for a composite score of 75% starting 2017.
MU3 is an opportunity to correct past design mistakes and develop a framework that is configurable and minimizes the impact of upgrades.
The transformation ahead
Once past the MU3 milestone, think about how best to transform your system to enable Value Based Care. This unquestionably would figure in your road map for the months to come after MU3.
While making changes to your EHR, keep an eye on MACRA requirements as well. Key design aspects can be future proof through extensibility, allowing for flexibility to cater to evolving interoperability needs. Remember, most of the infrastructure you need to develop for MU3 can be leveraged for MACRA!
