The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services extended the deadline for Meaningful Use requirements for providers participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive program.
The new deadline is March 13, 2017, a two-week extension from the previous Feb. 28 deadline, according to a CMS spokesperson. Eligible providers, hospitals, and critical access hospitals must attest to the 2016 program requirements to avoid a 2018 payment adjustment.
RELATED: Trump’s regulatory freeze delays HHS rules
Last month, CMS announced a similar extension for hospitals submitting 2016 electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQM) data through the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting program and the Meaningful Use program. Kate Goodrich, M.D., CMS chief medical officer and director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, also hinted that CMS is preparing to make changes to eCQM requirements in upcoming rulemaking.
Last year, the American Medical Informatics Association called for a “fundamental overhaul” of eCQMs.
RELATED: Trump’s two-for-one regulation order: Its potential impact on healthcare
In December, the CMS announced that 171,000 physicians would be hit with Meaningful Use penalties. Rep. Tom Price, who is in line to become the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, recently criticized Meaningful Use requirements during confirmation hearings, testifying that they have forced physicians to quit.