The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a notice of its plan to create a centralized database to help providers determine if public health agencies and registries' readiness to receive patient data from certified electronic health record technology. The notice, published in the Federal Register Feb. 7, also invites the public to comment.
Both Stages 1 and 2 of the Meaningful Use program contain objectives and measures that require providers to determine the readiness of public agencies and registries to receive the data. After receiving comments that these requirements were unduly burdensome, CMS agreed to create a single database to be the "definitive" source for providers to use in order to eliminate the need for multiple individual inquires. The database will be located on CMS' website. Comments are due to CMS by April 8. Notice