2015 Modified
Stage 2 Requirements
Your Guide To Being A Meaningful CEHRT User In 2015
Executive Summary
The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs began providing incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) as they adopted, implemented, upgraded or demonstrated meaningful use of certified EHR technology. Eligible professionals could have received up to $44,000 through the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. EPs successful participation now allows them to avoid payment adjustments to the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS).
An electronic health record (EHR)—sometimes called an electronic medical record (EMR)—
allows healthcare providers to record patient information electronically instead of using paper records. However, EHRs are often capable of doing much more than just recording information. The EHR Incentive Program asks providers to use the capabilities of their EHRs to achieve
benchmarks that can lead to improved patient care.
Disclaimer:
Though PayDC (Advanced Provider Solutions, LLC) believes reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the Document, it may include inaccuracies or typographical errors and may be changed or updated without notice. Information is based on documentation obtained through the
Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs as of October 2, 2015. It is
intended for discussion and educational purposes only and is provided "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AND RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION PRESENTED IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. PAYDC AND ITS CONTRIBUTORS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THIS INFORMATION, AND ANY AND ALL PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS. In no event shall PAYDC be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, or consequential damages or damages for loss of profits, revenue, data, down time, or use, arising out of or in any way connected with the use of the Document or performance of any services, whether based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability or otherwise. If you are dissatisfied with any portion of the Document, or with any of these terms of use, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Document.
Furthermore, please be advised that (i) PayDC (Advanced Provider Solutions, LLC) does not warrant or
guarantee, or make any representation or any promise with respect to, any result, output or outcome arising or resulting from the use of any software, including but not limited to the Meaningful Use module, or any service provided or made available by PayDC, including but not limited to compliance with any governmental law, rule or regulation, meeting any standard or any qualification requirement, or qualifying to receive any payment, including but not limited to any incentive payment under the applicable provisions (as may be amended from time to time) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Act”), including but not limited to the applicable provisions of Title XIII of Division A of the Act (the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, also known as HITECH) and Title IV of Division B of the Act (Medicare and Medicaid Health Information Technology; Miscellaneous Medicare Provisions) and regulations related thereto, (ii) PayDC shall have no responsibility or liability with respect to the use of any software or service provided or made available by PayDC or any result, output or outcome arising or resulting from the use of any software or any service provided or made available by PayDC, including but not limited to the failure to qualify to receive any incentive payment under the applicable provisions (as may be amended from time to time) of the Act, including but not limited to the applicable provisions of Title XIII of Division A of the Act (the Health Information
Table of Contents
Topic Page #
What is Modified Stage 2? 5
When is my reporting period? 6
What do I need to do to successfully demonstrate MU? (overview) 7-8
2015 Modified Stage 2 Objectives • Protect Patient Health Information • Clinical Decision Support (CDS)
• Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) • Electronic Prescribing
• Health Information Exchange • Patient Specific Education
• Medication Reconciliation • Patient Electronic Access • Secure Electronic Messaging • Public Health Reporting
9-49 9 13 18 24 27 31 36 39 43 49
Meaningful Use Dashboard 53-55
When can I attest? 56
Payment adjustments & exceptions 57-59
What is “Modified Stage 2”?
The EHR Incentive Programs in 2015 through 2017 (Modified Stage 2) reflect
changes to the objectives and measures of Stages 1 and 2 to align with Stage 3, which focuses on the advanced use of EHRs.
The changes also aim to reduce the complexity of the program and work
toward a shift to a single set of sustainable objectives and measures in 2018.
When is my reporting period?
Starting in 2015, the EHR reporting period for all providers will be based on
the calendar year.
In 2015 only, the EHR reporting period for all providers will be any
continuous 90-day period.
EPs may select an EHR reporting period of any continuous 90 day period from
What do I need to do to successfully
demonstrate Meaningful Use?
All providers are required to attest to a single set of objectives and measures
What do I need to do to successfully
demonstrate Meaningful Use?
For EPs, there are 10 objectives, including one consolidated public health
reporting objective.
This replaces the core and menu objectives structure of previous stages. In 2015, all providers must attest to objectives and measures using EHR
technology certified to the 2014 Edition.
To assist providers who may have already started working on meaningful use
in 2015, there are alternate exclusions and specifications within individual objectives for providers who were previously scheduled to be in Stage 1 of meaningful use. These include:
Allowing providers who were previously scheduled to be in a Stage 1 EHR reporting period for 2015 to use a lower threshold for certain measures.
Objective 1:
Protect Patient Health Information
Measure & Exclusions
Measure: Conduct or review asecurity risk analysis, including addressing the security (to include encryption) of ePHI created or maintained in CEHRT, and
implement security updates as necessary and correct identified security deficiencies as part of the EP’s risk management process.
Exclusion: None
Objective 1:
Protect Patient Health Information
Independently conduct or review a security risk analysis including office practices, addressing the
encryption/security of data stored in CEHRT, implement security updates as necessary, and correct identified security deficiencies as part of the provider's risk management process.
A Security Risk Analysis requires you to perform all of the following steps.
Conduct a Risk Analysis
Complete a Risk Management Assessment & Plan of Action Implement an Employee Sanction Policy
Perform a periodic system activity review
Here is an example of the types of questions you will be required to answer for your risk analysis:
Answer all questions to the best of your ability. Do not leave any answers blank. Sign and date each section.
Include the Employee Sanction Policy in your employment policy documents.
Audits may take time complete. It is recommended that periodic audits (monthly or weekly) are performed
Objective 1:
Protect Patient Health Information
The following sites can be used as resources when conducting the risk
assessment: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/securityrule/smallprovider.pdf http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/ehr-implementation-steps/step-2-plan-your-approach#resource_table http://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/privacy/privacy-and-security-guide-chapter-2.pdf http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/SecurityRiskAssessment_Fact Sheet_Updated20131122.pdf
http://paydc.com/support/frequently-asked-questions/ Scroll to “What does PayDC do to protect my information and maintain security?”
Rather than performing this assessment on your own, you may employ a
professional to perform this for you. Our recommended vendor for the risk analysis is HIPAA Secure Now. PayDC/APS clients get a 10% discount, so be sure to let them know you are a client! Our contact there is Art Gross.
Objective 1:
Protect Patient Health Information
This is a YES/NO question during
your attestation, and therefore there are no calculations listed on the dashboard for this measure.
It is critical that you retain
documentation that this measure was completed during your
reporting year.
Objective 2:
Clinical Decision Support
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 1: Implement five clinicaldecision support interventions related to four or more clinical
quality measures at a relevant point in patient care for the entire EHR reporting period. The clinical
decision support interventions must be related to high priority health conditions.
Measure 2: The EP has enabled and
implemented the functionality for drug-drug and drug allergy
interaction checks for the entire EHR reporting period.
***EPs must meet both measures to satisfy the requirement***
Exclusion: For the second measure,
any EP who writes fewer than 100 medication orders during the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
For an EHR reporting period in2015 only, an EP who was
scheduled to participate in Stage 1 in 2015 may satisfy the following in place of measure 1:
Objective 2:
Clinical Decision Support
Implement Clinical Decision Alerts
Objective 2:
Clinical Decision Support
Name your alert
Click ‘Add Criteria’ to enter the rules of your
alert. This is what will identify which patients this alert appears for
You can combine multiple rules to create more specific target groups
Ex: Demographics/Sex/Female AND
Demographics/Age/>/50 AND Vitals/BMI/>/25 will combine to identify women over 50 whose BMI is greater than 25.
Fill in the Citation/Research/Guidelines
-Why are you targeting this group? What are you providing them with?
Clinical Resource/Reference – Where did you
Objective 2:
Clinical Decision Support
Enable drug-drug and drug allergy interactions checks
This is an automatically enabled feature of the Dr First application
Objective 2:
Clinical Decision Support
This is a YES/NO question during
your attestation, and therefore there are no calculations listed on the dashboard for this measure.
It is critical that you retain
documentation that this measure was completed during your
reporting period.
Objective 3:
Computerized Provider Order Entry
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 1: More than 60 percentof medication orders created by the EP during the EHR reporting period are recorded using
computerized provider order entry.
Exclusion: Any EP who writes
fewer than 100 medication orders during the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
For Stage 1 providers in 2015, more
than 30 percent of all unique patients with at least one
medication in their medication list seen by the EP during the EHR
reporting period have at least one medication order entered using CPOE; or more than 30 percent of medication orders created by the EP during the EHR reporting period are recorded using computerized provider order entry.
Measure 1 of 3
Objective 3:
Computerized Provider Order Entry
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 2: More than 30 percentof laboratory orders created by the EP during the EHR reporting period are recorded using computerized provider order entry.
Exclusion: Any EP who writes
fewer than 100 laboratory orders during the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
Providers scheduled to be in Stage
1 in 2015 may claim an exclusion for measure 2 (laboratory orders) of the Stage 2 CPOE objective for an EHR reporting period in 2015.
Measure 2 of 3
Objective 3:
Computerized Provider Order Entry
Measure 2: Lab Orders Click on “Meaningful Use:
Meds/Labs/Reports” from the patient account screen
Go to the “Lab Orders” tab and
click “Add New”
Objective 3:
Computerized Provider Order Entry
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 3: More than 30 percentof radiology orders created by the EP during the EHR reporting period are recorded using computerized provider order entry.
Exclusion: Any EP who writes
fewer than 100 radiology orders during the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
Providers scheduled to be in Stage
1 in 2015 may claim an exclusion for measure 3 (radiology orders) of the Stage 2 CPOE objective for an EHR reporting period in 2015.
Measure 3 of 3
Objective 3:
Computerized Provider Order Entry
Measure 3: Radiology
Click on “Meaningful Use: Meds/Labs/Reports” from the patient account
screen
Go to the “Radiology/Imaging” tab and click “Add New” Fill in all fields
Objective 3:
Computerized Provider Order Entry
Objective 4:
Electronic Prescribing
Measure & Exclusions
Measure: More than 50 percent ofpermissible prescriptions written by the EP are queried for a drug
formulary and transmitted electronically using CEHRT.
Exclusions: Any EP who:
Writes fewer than 100 permissible
prescriptions during the EHR reporting period; or
Does not have a pharmacy within his
or her organization and there are no pharmacies that accept electronic prescriptions within 10 miles of the EP's practice location
Alternate Exclusions
For Stage 1 providers in 2015, more
Objective 4:
Electronic Prescribing
Electronic prescriptions are generated
& sent using the Dr First application.
In Dr First, click ‘Prescribe’ and type
the medication you wish to prescribe. Click on the dosage.
You’ll see this screen next
Fill in Pharmacy, Sig, Duration,
Quantity, Refills, Directions to Pharmacist/Patient, then click ‘Continue’
Objective 4:
Electronic Prescribing
Objective 5:
Health Information Exchange
Measure & Exclusions
Measure: The EP that transitions orrefers their patient to another setting of care or provider of care must (1) use CEHRT to create a summary of care record; and (2)
electronically transmit such summary to a receiving provider for more than 10 percent of transitions of care and referrals.
Exclusions: Any EP who transfers a
patient to another setting or refers a patient to another provider less than 100 times during the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
Provider may claim an exclusion for
the Stage 2 measure that requires the electronic transmission of a summary of care document if for an EHR reporting period in 2015, they were scheduled to
Objective 5:
Health Information Exchange
A summary of care can be generated
and sent through the patient’s SOAP note screen.
At the bottom of the SOAP note, click
“Other Functions” then “Send Summary of Care”
This summary can be sent to any
Objective 5:
Health Information Exchange
Once the care summary is generated
and sent, you’ll need to record that it was done in the “Meaningful Use:
Meds/Labs/Reports” section.
In this window you’ll click “Patient
Transfer Out” then click to add a line item.
Next, you’ll enter the provider who
transferred the patient, the date the patient was transferred, and check the box to show that the summary record was provided.
Objective 5:
Health Information Exchange
Objective 6:
Patient Specific Education
Measure & Exclusions
Measure: : Patient specificeducation resources identified by CEHRT are provided to patients for more than 10 percent of all unique patients with office visits seen by the EP during the EHR reporting period.
Exclusions: Any EP who has no
office visits during the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
Provider may claim an exclusion for
the measure of the Stage 2 Patient Specific Education objective if for an EHR reporting period in 2015 they were scheduled to
Objective 6:
Patient Specific Education
Patient educational resources can include traditional print materials as well as
multimedia materials and interactive tools.
Some examples of patient education resources are
Informational materials about health conditions, medical procedures, medications, and other health topics
Patient instructions that explain what patients need to do, including self-care instructions, when to come for follow-up appointments, tests and procedures
Decision-support tools that help patients to understand the scientific evidence as well as the risks and benefits of different healthcare choices, and to make informed
decisions based on the evidence and their personal values and preferences
Objective 6:
Patient Specific Education
Looking for materials for your
patients? Right-click on the
patient name in the alphabetical list on the account screen and click “Patient-Specific Education Resources”
You’ll be routed to
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlin eplus/ where you can find
Objective 6:
Patient Specific Education
Once your patients have been provided with their materials, mark in their SOAP
note that this information was provided.
In the Objective section, click “Clinical Quality Measures” and check the box for
Objective 6:
Patient Specific Education
Objective 7:
Medication Reconciliation
Measure & Exclusions
Measure: : The EP performsmedication reconciliation for more than 50 percent of transitions of care in which the patient is
transitioned into the care of the EP.
Exclusions: Any EP who was not
the recipient of any transitions of care during the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
Alternate Exclusion: Provider may
claim an exclusion for the measure of the Stage 2 Medication
Reconciliation objective if for an EHR reporting period in 2015 they were scheduled to demonstrate Stage 1 but did not intend to select the Stage 1 Medication
Objective 7:
Medication Reconciliation
The goal of this measure is to create themost accurate list possible of all medications a patient is taking and
compare that list against the transferring physician’s orders.
You’ll record the patient transfer in the
“Meaningful Use: Meds/Labs/Reports” section.
In this window you’ll click “Patient
Transfer In” then click to add a line item.
Next, you’ll enter the provider who
received the patient transfer, the date the patient was transferred, and check the box to show that the medication reconciliation was completed.
Objective 7:
Medication Reconciliation
Objective 8:
Patient Electronic Access (VDT)
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 1: More than 50 percent of
all unique patients seen by the EP during the EHR reporting period are provided timely access to view
online, download, and transmit to a third party their health information
Exclusions: Any EP who:
Neither orders nor creates any of the
information listed for inclusion as part of the measures
Conducts 50 percent or more of his or
her patient encounters in a county that does not have 50 percent or more of its housing units with 4Mbps broadband availability according to the latest information available from the FCC on the first day of the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
Providers may claim an exclusionfor the second measure if for an EHR reporting period in 2015 they were scheduled to demonstrate Stage 1, which does not have an equivalent measure.
Measure 1of 2
***EPs scheduled to report on Stage 2 requirements this year must meet both
Objective 8:
Patient Electronic Access (VDT)
1. Go to View>>Initiate
Patient Health Vault Account 3. In the objective section of the SOAP note, check
“Provided Electronic Access”
Objective 8:
Patient Electronic Access (VDT)
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 2: At least one patient seen
by the EP during the EHR reporting period (or patient-authorized
representative) views, downloads or transmits to a third party his or her health information during the EHR reporting period.
Exclusions: Any EP who:
Neither orders nor creates any of the
information listed for inclusion as part of the measures
Conducts 50 percent or more of his or
her patient encounters in a county that does not have 50 percent or more of its housing units with 4Mbps broadband availability according to the latest information available from the FCC on the first day of the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
Providers may claim an exclusionfor the second measure if for an EHR reporting period in 2015 they were scheduled to demonstrate Stage 1, which does not have an equivalent measure.
Measure 2 of 2
***EPs scheduled to report on Stage 2 requirements this year must meet both
Objective 8:
Patient Electronic Access (VDT)
Objective 8:
Patient Electronic Access (VDT)
Objective 9:
Secure Messaging
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 1: For an EHR reportingperiod in 2015, the capability for patients to send and receive a
secure electronic message with the EP was fully enabled during the EHR reporting period.
Exclusions: Any EP who:
Any EP who has no office visits during the EHR reporting period Conducts 50 percent or more of his
or her patient encounters in a county that does not have 50 percent or more of its housing units with 4Mbps broadband
availability according to the latest information available from the FCC on the first day of the EHR
reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
An EP may claim an exclusion forthe measure if for an EHR
Objective 9:
Secure Messaging
Providers must first register with our secure service, EMR Direct.
After completing registration, you will have the inbox enabled in your account. This inbox is accessible through the “Inbox” button at the top of your application.
You can only send messages to and receive messages from other secure addresses. The recipient (or authorized representative) must be authenticated and the message
content must be encrypted and integrity-protected in accordance with the standard for encryption and hashing algorithms.
Objective 9:
Secure Messaging
Refresh mailbox Inbox displays messages received Sent messagesObjective 9:
Secure Messaging
You can send a message by clicking
New Mail or Reply
Your secure address automatically
appears in the “from” field. Enter the recipient’s secure email in the “to” section, or click on the search button to see a list of patient’s addresses. Next, enter the subject and message.
If you’d like to add an attachment,
it must be an .XML file
Objective 9:
Secure Messaging
This is a YES/NO question during
your attestation, and therefore there are no calculations listed on the dashboard for this measure.
It is critical that you retain
documentation that this measure was completed during your
reporting period.
Objective 10:
Public Health Reporting
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 1: Immunization Registry
Reporting- The EP is in active engagement
with a public health agency to submit immunization data.
Exclusion: Any EP meeting one or more of
the following criteria may be excluded from the immunization registry reporting measure if the EP:
Does not administer any immunizations
to any of the populations for which data is collected by its jurisdiction's
immunization registry or immunization information system during the EHR reporting period
Operates in a jurisdiction for which no
immunization registry or immunization information system is capable of
accepting the specific standards
required to meet the CEHRT definition at the start of the EHR reporting period
Operates in a jurisdiction where no
immunization registry or immunization information system has declared
readiness to receive immunization data from the EP at the start of the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
An EP scheduled to be in Stage 1 in
2015 may meet 1 measure.
Measure 1 of 3
***EPs must meet 2 of the 3 measures to satisfy the requirement, unless exclusions
Objective 10:
Public Health Reporting
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 2: Syndromic Surveillance
Reporting: The EP is in active engagement
with a public health agency to submit syndromic surveillance data.
Exclusion: Any EP meeting one or more of
the following criteria may be excluded from the syndromic surveillance reporting measure if the EP:
Is not in a category of providers from
which ambulatory syndromic
surveillance data is collected by their jurisdiction's syndromic surveillance system
Operates in a jurisdiction for which no
public health agency is capable of receiving electronic syndromic surveillance data from EPs in the
specific standards required to meet the CEHRT definition at the start of the EHR reporting period
Operates in a jurisdiction where no
public health agency has declared readiness to receive syndromic
surveillance data from EPs at the start of the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
An EP scheduled to be in Stage 1 in
2015 may meet 1 measure.
Measure 2 of 3
***EPs must meet 2 of the 3 measures to satisfy the requirement, unless exclusions
Objective 10:
Public Health Reporting
Measure & Exclusions
Measure 3: Specialized Registry
Reporting: The EP is in active engagement
to submit data to a specialized registry.
Exclusion: Any EP meeting at least one of
the following criteria may be excluded from the specialized registry reporting measure if the EP:
Does not diagnose or treat any disease
or condition associated with, or collect relevant data that is collected by, a specialized registry in their jurisdiction during the EHR reporting period
Operates in a jurisdiction for which no
specialized registry is capable of accepting electronic registry
transactions in the specific standards required to meet the CEHRT definition at the start of the EHR reporting period
Operates in a jurisdiction where no
specialized registry for which the EP is eligible has declared readiness to
receive electronic registry transactions at the beginning of the EHR reporting period.
Alternate Exclusions
An EP scheduled to be in Stage 1 in
2015 may meet 1 measure.
Measure 3 of 3
***EPs must meet 2 of the 3 measures to satisfy the requirement, unless exclusions
Objective 10:
Public Health Reporting
These 3 measures will be YES/NO
questions during your attestation, and therefore there are no
calculations listed on the
dashboard for these measures.
It is critical that you retain
documentation that these
measures were completed during your reporting period or have
Meaningful Use Dashboard
The Meaningful Use Dashboard helps you track your Meaningful Use Progress
through out your reporting period.
You must first REFRESH your data before viewing the dashboard to ensure the
calculations are accurate and up-to-date. 1. Go to File>>Refresh Dr
First Subscription Patients
2. Click ‘Yes’ to begin the refresh. This window will disappear and the process will run in the background while you do other things in the application.
Meaningful Use Dashboard
4. Go to View>>Measure Calculation Automated
Meaningful Use Dashboard
Requirement name
# of patients meeting the requirement
Total patients seen during reporting period (based on SOAP notes recorded)
Numerator ÷ Denominator
Patients who have the required data
present
When can I attest?
Despite the change to a 90-day EHR reporting period in 2015, providers will
not be able to attest to meaningful use for an EHR reporting period in 2015 prior to January 4, 2016.
For an EHR reporting period in 2015, all Medicare providers must attest by
Payment Adjustments & Exceptions
In 2015, participants who successfully demonstrate meaningful use for this
period and satisfy all other program requirements will avoid the payment adjustment in CY 2017 if the EP successfully attests by February 29, 2016.
You must demonstrate meaningful use every year in order to avoid Medicare
payment adjustments. For example, an eligible professional who
demonstrates meaningful use for the first time in 2013 will avoid the payment adjustment in 2015, but will need to demonstrate meaningful use again in 2014 in order to avoid the payment adjustment in 2016.
Medicare eligible professionals who are not meaningful users will be subject
Payment Adjustments & Exceptions
This payment adjustment will be applied to the Medicare physician fee
schedule (PFS) amount for covered professional services furnished by the eligible professional during the year.
Eligible professionals receive the payment adjustment amount that is tied to
the year that they did not demonstrate meaningful use (e.g., A health care professional who is eligible for a payment adjustment in 2018 will receive a 4% PFS reduction regardless if this is their first or fourth year not
demonstrating meaningful use).
The table below illustrates the potential application of payment adjustments
Payment Adjustments & Exceptions
Providers may apply for hardship exceptions to avoid the payment adjustments. Eligible professionals can apply for hardship exceptions in the following categories:
Infrastructure: Eligible professionals must demonstrate that they are in an area without
sufficient internet access or face insurmountable barriers to obtaining infrastructure (e.g., lack of broadband).
New Eligible Professionals: Newly practicing eligible professionals who would not have had time
to become meaningful users can apply for a 2-year limited exception to payment adjustments.
Unforeseen Circumstances: Examples may include a natural disaster or other unforeseeable
barrier.
2014 EHR Vendor Issues: The eligible professional’s EHR vendor was unable to obtain 2014
certification or the eligible professional was unable to implement meaningful use due to 2014 EHR certification delays.
Patient Interaction:
Lack of face-to-face or telemedicine interaction with patient.
Lack of follow-up need with patients
Practice at Multiple Locations: Lack of control over availability of CEHRT for more than 50% of
patient encounters.
PECOS Specialties: An EP that has a primary specialty listed in PECOS as anesthesiology,
radiology or pathology 6 months prior to the first day of the payment adjustments that would otherwise apply. The specialty codes include diagnostic radiology (30), nuclear medicine (36), interventional radiology (94), anesthesiology (05), and pathology (22)
Hardship exceptions are granted on a case-by-case basis. Information on how to apply for a
References
What you need to know for 2015:
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/Stage3_EP.pdf
Overview Sheet for 2015-2017:
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/Stage3Overview2015 _2017.pdf
Registration and Attestation
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/RegistrationandAttestation.html
Payment Adjustments & Hardship Exceptions Tipsheet for Eligible
Professionals
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/PaymentAdj_Hardshi pExcepTipSheetforEP.pdf
2014 Definition Stage 1 Objectives
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/EP_MU_TableOfCont ents.pdf Stage 2 Objectives
