Dive Brief:
- The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) sent a letter to CMS yesterday advocating policymakers to streamline the Meaningful Use program and reduce reporting burden on providers to better aligning quality measures.
- The organization supports transitioning eligible professionals to a more flexible MU compliance model, shifting away from the current pass/fail construct and finding physicians successful if they meet 75% or more of the requirements.
- "Many CHIME members submit more than 20 reports across federal, state, and private sector programs for various clinical quality measures each month. Hours of work and expertise are required to comply with these reporting demands and such burdens are exacerbated by a lack of technical harmonization," the letter stated. "The goal should be to eliminate duplicative quality measures and reporting requirements."
Dive Insight:
CHIME Board Chair Charles Christian and CHIME CEO and President Russell Branzell additionally stated in the letter eligible hospitals should also be moved off of the existing all-or-nothing approach.
CMS had called for a request of information regarding implementation of the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System and of alternative payment models for physicians. The system was enacted earlier this year as part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which did away with the troubled sustainable growth rate used to determine physician payment.
According to CHIME, CMS in its RFI indicated a willingness to move away from pass/fail and adopt a weighted approach for physicians. CHIME stated supports such a move, but believes it should apply to hospitals as well.
"We have previously advocated for the removal of the pass/fail methodology of the Meaningful Use program," Christian and Branzell wrote, noting that the pass/fail methodology often pulls resources away from other critical areas, including pursuing interoperability and adopting other solutions that can advance patient care.
In its letter, CHIME also encouraged CMS to reduce the reporting burden by eliminating redundant measures and data collection requirements.
CHIME has more than 1,600 CIO members and 150 health IT vendors and professional services firms.