Journal of AHIMA - June 2011

meaningful use. The administrative transaction data standards are those adopted under HIPAA. Thus, if the final regulations include administrative transaction standards and certification criteria, ICD-10-CM/PCS will become a data standard for certified EHR technology under the meaningful use incentive program, aligning the standards for administrative transactions in EHRs with the administrative simplification provisions in the Affordable Care Act.

The work on the standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for stage 2 of the meaningful use program is going on now. The Health IT Standards Committee and its Clinical Quality Workgroup and Vocabulary Task Force subsidiaries will discuss the data standards, including ICD-10-CM/ PCS. These groups will provide recommendations to ONC on which data standards should be adopted for stages 2 and 3 of the meaningful use program. ONC is expected to issue a proposed rule on stage 2 by the end of this year, with a final rule to come in 2012.

As proposals are formed, HIM professionals should monitor the work of these groups and look for opportunities to provide comments on their recommendations.

HIM professionals are at the forefront of the transition from paper to EHRs and ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS. As such they have the opportunity to influence which data standards will be adopted for the electronic capture of uniformly structured data as required for certified EHR technology.

The implementation of the stage 2 meaningful use criteria in 2013, happening in tandem with ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation, will have a major impact on resources. As leaders in these key initiatives, HIM professionals must outline the overlap in the timelines, determine the critical points for the implementation of each, carefully plan how best to convert to EHRs, obtain uniformly structured data, and successfully transition to ICD- 10-CM/PCS. ¢

References

AHIMA. “Solicitation of Comments—Meaningful Use Stage
2.” February 25, 2011. www.ahima.org
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “Overview of
Electronic Transactions & Code Sets.” HIPAA Information
Series. May 2003. www.cms.gov/EducationMaterials/02_
HIPAAMaterials.asp.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “CMS Finalizes Definition of Meaningful Use of Certified Electronic Health Records (EHR) Technology.” July 30, 2010. www.cms.gov.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. “Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology; Final Rule. Federal Register 75, no. 144 (July 28, 2010). http://edocket. access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-17210.pdf.

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