The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued guidance intended to help clinicians eligible for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) navigate an attestation required thereunder concerning the prevention of information blocking. MIPS was implemented via CMS’s Quality Payments Program final rule with comment period released in 2016, and represents one avenue for payment reform under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Health industry stakeholders, and providers in particular, have repeatedly cited difficulty in communicating between electronic health record systems as a major impediment to effective health care reform (including due to so-called “information blocking” practices). In response, MIPS seeks to incentivize clinicians to promote the interoperability and compatibility of certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT).
Continue Reading CMS Addresses Lingering Uncertainties and Raises Others via MACRA Information Blocking Guidance