ehr onc final certification - Department of Health Care Services

are unaware of any alternative voluntary consensus standard that accomplishes the same
purpose.
Comments. Several commenters recommended additional elements for the
certification criterion for us to consider adding. One commenter recommended that we
include more demographic data items to allow successful matching with prior admissions
and further that we consider requiring the inclusion of social security number, birthplace,
and years of education, if available. A couple commenters requested that we add
occupation and industry status as well because they are already required for cancer
registries. Another commenter suggested that we add family history to demographics
that should be captured and reported. One commenter suggested that we also include a
patient's functional status. Many commenters suggested that we encourage self-reporting
of demographics and indicate whether information was self-reported. Finally, one
commenter stated that EHRs are not appropriate source of legal documentation for births
and deaths.
Response. While we understand commenters’ intentions, we do not believe that it
would be appropriate to expand this certification criterion beyond what is required to
support meaningful use. Again, as we have previously stated, this does not preclude a
Complete EHR or EHR Module developer from including the capability to record
additional demographic information. Finally, consistent with the Medicare and Medicaid
EHR Incentive Programs final rule, we have removed the capability to record insurance
type from the certification criterion.
§170.304(d) - Generate patient reminder list
Meaningful Use
Stage 1
Objective
Meaningful Use
Stage 1 Measure
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Certification Criterion