CMS ends Meaningful Use, proposes new model

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Speaking about the technology component for the Affordable Care Act at the J.P. Morgan Annual Health Care Conference, Jan. 11, 2016, CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt declared the Meaningful Use program over and announced a new initiative to replace it.

"The Meaningful Use program as it has existed, will now be effectively over and replaced with something better," Slavitt said.

"Since late last year we have been working side by side with physician organizations across many communities — including with great advocacy from the AMA – and have listened to the needs and concerns of many. We will be putting out the details on this next stage over the next few months, but I will give you the themes guiding our implementation.

• For one, the focus will move away from rewarding providers for the use of technology and towards the outcome they achieve with their patients.
• Second, providers will be able to customize their goals so tech companies can build around the individual practice needs, not the needs of the government. Technology must be user-centered and support physicians, not distract them.
• Third, one way to aid this is by leveling the technology playing field for start-ups and new entrants. We are requiring open APIs in order to the physician desktop can be opened up and move away from the lock that early EHR decisions placed on physician organizations so that allow apps, analytic tools, and connected technologies to get data in and out of an EHR securely.
• And finally, we are deadly serious about interoperability. We will begin initiatives in collaboration with physicians and consumers toward pointing technology to fill critical use cases like closing referral loops and engaging a patient in their care. And technology companies that look for ways to practice “data blocking” in opposition to new regulations will find that it won’t be tolerated.

Source: The CMS Blog