one day. (See “Medicare and Medicaid Incentives” below.) To qualify for the Stage 2 incentives, physicians must meet 17 core objectives and three menu objectives. To read the Stage 2 meaningful use final rule, a ta- ble comparing Stage 1 and Stage 2 ob- jectives, a complete list of the Stage 2 core and menu measures for physicians, and a Stage 2 timeline, visit the CMS website,
http://go.cms.gov/1eucZ36. Before CMS adopted the final rules, TMA sent a 14-page comment letter with suggestions to improve the proposed Stage 2 rules. The association recom- mended CMS allow physicians to meet only 90 days of meaningful use during the 2014 transition, and the agency
The Texas Medical Association is advancing the Choosing Wisely® campaign, an initiative to help physicians and patients talk about avoiding unnecessary care.
Through the Choosing Wisely® campaign, TMA is helping Texas physicians spur conversation around evidence- based recommendations created by your medical specialty societies.
One-third of all physicians acquiesce to patient requests for tests and procedures — even when they know they’re not necessary.
For more information about Choosing Wisely®, visit
www.texmed.org/ ChoosingWisely/.
heeded TMA’s advice. The final rule al- lows physicians to meet the reduced reporting period because of the time it will take EHR vendors to meet the new certification requirements. The EHR certification rules comple- ment the CMS meaningful use Stage 2 rules. The ONC fact sheet on standards, implementation specifications, and cer- tification criteria for EHR technology is available online at
http://bit.ly/H6f3m4. TMA submitted an 11-page comment
letter to ONC on its proposed EHR tech- nology standards and certification rules last May. The letter, signed by Joseph Schneider, MD, chair of the TMA ad hoc HIT committee, expressed TMA’s frustra- tion over the federal government’s inad-
Medicare and Medicaid incentives
Health care professionals in the Medicare incentive program can earn up to $44,000 over five years for meeting meaning- ful use criteria by 2016. Eligible Medicare physicians in a health professional shortage area can receive a 10-percent increase in incentives.
Eligible non-hospital-based physicians with at least 30-per-
cent Medicaid patient volume can receive up to $63,750 over six years in incentive payments from 2011 to 2021. Eligible non- hospital-based pediatricians with at least 20-percent Medicaid patient volume could receive up to $42,500 during the same period. For more information, visit the CMS electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs website,
http://go.cms.gov/1hZxiFy, and the TMA EHR Incentive Program Resource Center, www
.texmed.org/EHRincentive. Additionally, the TMA EHR Implementation Guide, EHR
Funded by the TMA Foundation. 48 TEXAS MEDICINE December 2013 1/3 v 2.25 x 9.75
Product Comparison Tool (TMA members only), Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Comparison, EHR Incentive Program Eligibility Tool, and Medicare and Medicaid incentive program instructions are on the TMA HIT webpage,
www.texmed.org/hit.
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