It was a pleasure to work with you, as you and your team made this process a more pleasant experience for our team and the participants.
Karen Perry
CMS' announcement that it plans to issue a rule that would update the meaningful use program to give eligible providers and hospitals more flexibility in meeting program requirements has been met mostly with praise, Becker's Health IT & CIO Review reports.
Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments (Jayanthi, Becker's Health IT & CIO Review, 2/2).
Last week, CMS in a blog post said it is considering proposals that would:
The rule is expected to be released in the spring, and it would be separate from the Stage 3 proposed rule that is set to come out in March (iHealthBeat, 1/29).
Donald Fisher, president and CEO of American Medical Group Association, in a release said his organization is "very pleased with CMS' announcement," adding, "These changes will be enormously helpful to our members who have pioneered the use of EHRs" (Becker's Health IT & CIO Review, 2/2).
Similarly, Mayo Clinic CIO Cris Ross noted that the adjustments would "allow provider and hospital organizations to accurately depict their compliance with meaningful use with less administrative overhead."
Meanwhile, Sue Schade -- CIO at University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers -- said the proposal "reflects that the voices of CIOs and others in the industry are being heard in terms of some of the adjustments that are needed to the timing and the regulations at this point."
Anders Gilberg, senior vice president of government affairs at the Medical Group Management Association, said his organization is "encouraged" by the announcement and urged CMS "to expedite the release of its 90-day reporting provision to give physician practices the confidence they need to continue participating in this program" (Miliard, Healthcare IT News, 1/30).
Meanwhile, Steven Stack -- president-elect of the American Medical Association -- in a statement said that while his organization is "eager" for the new rule, it is important that it "be issued expediently," as "today's EHR certification standards and the stringent requirements of the Meaningful Use program do not support that goal and decrease efficiency" (Bowman, FierceEMR, 1/30).
It was a pleasure to work with you, as you and your team made this process a more pleasant experience for our team and the participants.
I just want to tell you that I value people relations more than money. I remember how you were friendly and helpful not going against policies and contractual obligations at the same time, not using your power to make us feel stupid and small. It was a very rare and big experience for me. Really. I will always remember this.
The Usability People are all individuals that you can become friends with very easily. They have a lot of different interests and are a pleasure to work with. I was writing a PRD/MRD for a billing solution and worked with The Usability People in defining the user interface. They are receptive to ideas and are able to mold the user interface from an end-user's perspective. I really liked the idea of putting end-user photograph & short biography around the office to help understand the users