Meaningful Use attestation numbers for the Medicare incentive program for 2015 appear to be down slightly from 2014, according to figures sent to FierceEMR by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The number of eligible professionals (EPs) who successfully attested in 2015 was 226,514, down a bit from the 2014 EHR reporting period, where 228,662 Medicare EPs attested. Of those EPs who successfully attested for 2015, 58,783 attested to Stage 1 of the program and 167,731 attested to Stage 2. The number of Medicare hospitals that successfully attested for 2015 was 4,071, down from 4,177 for the 2014 reporting period.
Of the 2015 hospital attesters, 470 were scheduled to be in Stage 1 and 3,601 in Stage 2. CMS noted that "it may be misleading to compare numbers from year to year because the total number of hospitals has been dropping due to mergers and changes in ownership." CMS also pointed out that the numbers aren't final; about 150 providers had been granted extensions. The numbers reflect only the Medicare program, not the Medicaid program or Medicare Advantage.
The information will post to the CMS website when it releases its monthly reports. Website