Each month, one What’s Next newsletter article is dedicated to helping your facility navigate the MU requirements for hospitals and CAHs. In this month’s edition, we will be looking forward to the recently released MU3 PROPOSED rules. On Friday, March 20, 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services released the Proposed Rule for Meaningful Use Stage 3. “This Stage 3 proposed rule would specify the meaningful use criteria that eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) must meet in order to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) incentive payments and avoid downward payment adjustments under Medicare for Stage 3 of the EHR Incentive Programs.”1 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are currently accepting comments, which will be reviewed before the final ruling is released. A few key ideas presented in the proposed ruling document include:
- Beginning in 2018, all participants will be required to follow the Stage 3 requirements.
- For 2017 and beyond, the reporting period will be a full calendar year, not a fiscal quarter/year.
- Payment adjustments are the same as before, except for some revisions for CAHs.
- In 2015, 2016 and 2017, facilities may use a 2014 Ed. CEHRT, 2015 Ed. CEHRT, or a combination of the two products. .
- Facilities will be required to use 2015 CEHRT for Stage 3 in 2018.
- The two data collection methods, Observation and All ED Visits , will remain the same for Stage 3.
- Updates to the CQMs will be presented in the IPPS Rule. The Proposed IPPS rule is anticipated to be published in April, 2015. It is proposed that the QRDA-III requirement be removed.
Stage 3 Meaningful Use – Objectives and Measures Summary2 The below spreadsheet is intended to act as an overview of the proposed rule, as described in the Department of Health and Human Services Stage 3 document. The full document can be located by clicking HERE. The “Located on” page number section refers to the beginning of the referenced section within the document itself. 
NextGen Hospital Solutions teams are currently digesting the proposed rule and are completing a gap analysis of the current product offering. A release timeline has not yet been created. We will continue to update you as the official ruling and resulting timeline becomes available. 1.) https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-06685.pdf 2.) http://www.clinicalarchitecture.com/blog/clinical-architecture-healthcare-it-blog/march-2015/meaningful-use-stage-3-%E2%80%93-proposed-objectives-summa/