amy says he and his wife plan to con- tinue to add new features based on user feedback. “Every addition to the app’s function- ality is always aimed at helping physi- cians help their patients and connect with their medical communities,” he said. Dr. Haas encourages TMA members
to try DocbookMD. “DocbookMD offers a unique way for physicians to send messages to their consultants and colleagues about the patients they share or may soon share. Because the app is portable and intuitive, it’s not intimidating to use, but rather it’s like using any other app on a smart- phone,” she said.
CMS issues Stage 2 meaningful use final rule
In August, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Stage 2 meaningful use final rule for earning electronic health record (EHR) incentives.
Physicians receiving EHR incentives must meet meaningful use criteria each year for five consecutive years under the Medicare program. Under the Medicaid program, physicians must achieve mean-
ingful use over six nonconsecutive years. Physicians who meaningfully use a certified EHR may qualify for up to $44,000 under Medicare or up to $63,750 under Medicaid. According to the final rule, physicians who started the EHR incentive program in 2011 or 2012 must comply with Stage 2 criteria beginning in 2014. Physicians who begin Stage 2 in 2014 are subject to a 90-day reporting period for that year only. This is in recognition of EHR ven- dors’ need to upgrade their systems to meet the requirements. Stage 2 criteria differ from those of Stage 1. For example, Stage 1 required physicians to give patients their clini- cal summaries in three days. In Stage 2, physicians have only one day to do so. Also, a new core measure for physicians requires them to electronically communi- cate at least one time with 5 percent of their patients. CMS proposed requiring physicians to
How DocbookMD came to be
electronically communicate at least one time with 10 percent of their patients, and TMA strongly opposed the proposed measure.
In Stage 2, physicians must achieve
three of six menu objectives. Five of the menu measures are new. CMS prepared a summary that compares Stage 1 and Stage 2 that can be accessed online,
http://go.cms.gov/SxNLqF. Texas regional extension centers (RECs) can help practices with the meaningful use measures through on- site technical consulting. To access con- tact information for each REC, visit www
.texmed.org/REC. For questions about meaningful use, contact TMA’s Health Information Tech- nology Department at (800) 880-5720 or email
hit@texmed.org. n
In this still shot from a video telling their story, Tim Gueramy, MD, and Tracey Haas, DO, describe how a first wedding anniversary dinner led them to create the DocbookMD app.
Crystal Conde is an associate editor of Texas Medicine. You can reach her by telephone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1385, or (512) 370-1385; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at
crystal.conde@
texmed.org.
Use your smartphone to scan the QR code to view the video.
56 TEXAS MEDICINE November 2012
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