x have limited prescribing activity; or
x have insufficient opportunities to
report the e-prescribing measure
due to limitations of the measure’s
denominator.
The two hardship exemptions already
available apply to eligible professionals
or group practices in rural areas with
limited high-speed Internet access and
areas with limited available pharmacies
for electronic prescribing.
Physicians have until November 1,
2011, to request exemptions. Individual
eligible professionals may request ex-
emptions for the 2012 eRx payment
adjustment through a Web-based tool;
group practices must send a letter. In-
structions will be available on the eRx
Incentive Program Web site, www.cms.
gov/ERXincentive.
ments. The final rule revises the existing
2011 electronic prescribing measure to
indicate that a qualified electronic prescribing system includes certified EHR
technology as defined in 42 CFR 495.4
and 45 CFR 170.102.
Section 132 of the Medicare Improve-
ments for Patients and Providers Act of
2008 (MIPPA) required the HHS sec-
ary 1, 2009. While the eRx Incentive
Program has similarities in structure
and processes to the Physician Quality
Reporting System (formerly the Physi-
cian Quality Reporting Initiative), this
program is a separate program with
distinct reporting requirements and as-
sociated incentive payments and pay-
ment adjustments. ¢
EHRs Boost Diabetes Care Outcomes
According to a study published September 1 in the New England Journal of
Medicine, adults with diabetes seen at medical practices that used electronic
health records were more likely to receive care and experience outcomes that
aligned more closely with national standards than patients seen at practices with
paper-based records.
The study followed 27,207 adults with diabetes seen at 46 practices between
July 2009 and June 2010. Study findings were consistent across insurance types
and when confined to safety-net practices. Differences were lower but consistent when adjusted for covariates. ¢
100%
n EHR practices
n Paper-based practices
80%
60%
50.9%
43.7%
40%
20%
15.7%
6.6%
0%
Source: Cebul, Randall D., Thomas E. Love, Anil K. Jain, and Christopher J. Hebert. “Electronic
Health Records and Quality of Diabetes Care.” New England Journal of Medicine 365, no. 9
(Sept. 1, 2011). www.nejm.org.
AHIMA Delegated
New ISO Secretariat
AHIMA has been delegated the new International Organization for Standardization’s secretariat of ISO’s Technical
Committee 215 on Health Informatics,
also known as ISO/ TC 215.
The international group develops and/
or harmonizes functional, data, and in-teroperability standards specifications
and reports related to electronic health
records, personal health records, and
health information exchange.
ISO originally named the American
National Standards Institute, the US
member of ISO, the secretariat position. But in 2003 ANSI delegated the
secretariat responsibilities to HIMSS
and is now managing the transition of
responsibilities to AHIMA.
The association will also take over
as administrator of the US Technical
Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO/TC 215,
a group that works within the US to co-ordinate US technical experts and develop national positions on ISO/TC 215
matters. ¢
