- Someone’s listening. We all want to be heard and there’s no shortage of input on this massive transformation in healthcare. The great delay is to give everyone the additional time they’re asking for. It’s a win-win response.
- Time is our friend. Health care reform is complex enough on a pure technology level. But it’s more than that. It involves all of us and our individual learning curves. In even the best case scenarios we need time to adapt and embrace.
- Incentive payments are unaffected. For those who started into their MU Attestation already – and even for those who will start in 2012 – the stimulus incentive grants are not affected. In fact, given that the Stage 2 and 3 requirements will only get more stringent, this means the early adopters get an easier ride. For a whole extra year, they get to keep doing what they’re already doing.*
- An early-adopter bonus. The incentive program rolls out over five years, right? Do the math. Those who got started in 2011 will finish collecting their grants by the end of 2015. That means the early adopters will finish collecting before Stage 3 hits. To be clear, I don’t mean Stage 3 standards will not apply to those who finish by 2015, only that they won’t have grant money at stake as they move into the Stage 3.
* This point is worth clarifying. I still get asked frequently if, once the 90-day Meaningful Use Attestation period is over, do I just wait until the next period comes around? The answer is no. The whole point of the incentive program is to get you engaged in permanent change. Your initial attestation period, be it in 2011, 2012 or later, will be 90 consecutive days. Once that period is over, you must continue demonstrating Meaningful Use 365 days a year, and from year to year.
Alistair Jackson, M.Ed.
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