Highlighting a lack of financial resources and qualified IT professionals, 64% of healthcare providers say they are not prepared to meet Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) reporting requirements.
Executives and IT professionals from a broad range of provider organizations expressed concern regarding data reporting mechanisms outlined in MACRA, according to a survey (PDF) conducted by Stoltenberg Consulting, which polled attendees at the annual HIMSS conference in Orlando.
The majority of respondents indicated they were “unprepared” or “very unprepared” to meet MACRA’s requirements while lamenting their organization’s lack of qualified professionals that has left IT departments understaffed.
Three in 10 respondents said revising data reporting mechanisms outlined in the Quality Payment Program was a top concern.
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Although 68% of respondents said initiatives should be spread across clinical, financial and IT departments, more than a quarter pointed to a lack of urgency across the organization in the lead up to 2017, the first reporting year under the law.
“Many felt MACRA would be delayed due to its size and enormous financial impact on physician reimbursement in the transition to value-based care,” said Joncé Smith, vice president of revenue cycle management at the consultancy, adding that organizations need to go beyond “just passive submission of claim data.”
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Following his confirmation in February, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was urged by physician organizations to make MACRA voluntary, a move that could free doctors from EHR data entry. Other organizations have lauded the value-based payment law as one of several regulatory efforts that will improve care and lower costs.
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Meanwhile, an often overlooked provision of MACRA that requires providers to conduct a security risk assessment offers a good starting point for compliance, according to an op-ed in Managed Healthcare Executive.