Attestation for the CMS EHR Incentive Program
EHR Meaningful attestation is the part of the process for securing CMS EHR Incentive Program reimbursements which requires healthcare providers to attest (prove) that they have a certified EHR and are using it meaningfully. Both CMS Medicare and Medicaid programs require attestation through the CMS website.
Attestation is required for qualifying for the meaningful use incentives; you are expected to submit values for objectives as well as Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs) after your reporting period. This needs to be performed online according to the process of meaningful use attestation and reporting.
Attestation is a combination of the reporting from the EHR and the self proclamation of the provider - for proving the consistent meaningful use for accomplishing the core and menu set requirements of meaningful use.
Attestation process had not changed for the reporting year of 2016. Practices will have to maintain relevant documentation for a minimum of six years, which includes the following:
- Documentation verifying actions that are completed outside of the EHR
- Printed CQM report and meaningful use dashboard
- Documentation for supporting any applicable exclusions
Medicare Meaningful Use Attestation
The process is performed using an online system which facilitates entering information about all the core and menu objectives by the provider. Upon successful Medicare meaningful use attestation, the CMS will send an incentive payment to the provider.
Challenges in attestation
Medicare meaningful attestation requires considerable factors on the EHR system of the provider as well as the EHR Software vendor. In addition to meeting and recording all the core and menu objectives related to each reporting period, they need to be prepared for other complexities and standards needed for 2015 attestation.
Medicaid Meaningful Use Attestation
For receiving Medicaid incentive payment, all the eligible professionals need to provide attestation. It is performed online in the Medicaid web portal.
During the provider's first year of participation, they need to meet all requirements by just demonstrating that they have adopted and implemented an EHR system. After the first year of participation, caregivers must meet the objectives of meaningful use.
Challenges in attestation
Real-time monitoring must be provided by the EHR system; it must have the ability to detect trends which indicate whether provider is at risk of dropping below any of the necessary thresholds.
