ehr onc final certification - Department of Health Care Services

Accordingly, we have removed the adopted standards, implementation specifications, and
certification criteria related to these administrative transactions from this final rule.
As CMS explains in more detail in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive
Programs final rule, the subsequent inclusion of administrative simplification
requirements as part of meaningful use Stage 2 is an important long-term policy goal.
Administrative simplification can improve the efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs in
the health care system as a whole; the small percentage of paper claims submitted
represents a disproportionately high administrative cost for health plans; the
reconciliation of billing charges for services not eligible for payment creates a significant
burden for providers, health plans, and most significantly, for patients. Moreover, we
believe that the integration of administrative and clinical information systems is
necessary to support effective management and coordinated care in physician practices.
For example, the ability to: leverage clinical documentation in support of appropriate
charge capture (e.g., for preventive counseling, or immunizations provided); link lists of
patients needing clinical reminders with patient contact information; stratify quality
measures by patient demographic factors (e.g., race/ethnicity) and insurer status (e.g.,
Medicare beneficiaries).
Additionally, we believe that important benefits can be recognized through the
future adoption of administrative transactions standards and certification criteria for
Complete EHRs and EHR Modules. Through the use of EHR Modules, eligible
professionals and eligible hospitals have the opportunity to use practice management
systems or clearinghouses that provide the capability to conduct administrative
transactions as components of Certified EHR Technology. In that regard, we recognize
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