during the EHR reporting period or don’t collect relevant data associated with such a registry. However, if a physician can receive
an exclusion from only one measure, he or she still has to meet the other two to satisfy objective 10. If the prac- titioner can claim two exclusions, he or she must still meet the third re- maining measure to satisfy the objec- tive. Qualifying for an exclusion from all three measures will also satisfy the objective. A physician who fails to meet any
of the 10 required meaningful use ob- jectives for the 2016 reporting period will receive a 3-percent payment cut from CMS in 2018. The easiest of the three measures
to meet, Dr. Gilmer says, is the first one because of Texas’ ImmTrac im- munization database. But he doesn’t administer immunizations as part of his neurology practice, so he’s not registered with ImmTrac. He says he could “sign up for it, give myself a flu shot, and say I did it, but that defeats the purpose.” “It’s not ethical to just sign up for
programs to meet the measure, to meet the letter of the law, when it’s not applicable to me,” he said. Dr. Gilmer says measure 2, involv-
ing submission of syndromic surveil- lance data, lacks clarity. For example, available exclusions from measure 2 include a situation in which a physi- cian “is not in a category of providers from which ambulatory syndromic surveillance data is collected by their jurisdiction’s syndromic surveillance system.” There’s also an exclusion for a physician who “operates in a juris- diction where no public health agency has declared readiness” to receive syn- dromic surveillance data. Syndromic surveillance refers to the collection of health data that can signal or analyze the spread of a potential disease out- break. As of February, according to the
Texas Department of State Health Services website, Texas has no state- wide syndromic surveillance system,
May 2016 TEXAS MEDICINE 51
Texas physicians can now e-prescribe schedule II-V controlled substances
“Of course I can give you a few Hydrocodone. I’ve got extra!”
50% of prescription pain medicine abusers get their drugs from family or friends.
Of course I can give you a few Hydrocodone.I’ve got extra!
Electronically prescribing controlled substances (ePCS) increases patient safety and reduces: • Problems with patient adherence • Over-prescribing of medications • Doctor shopping to fill duplicate prescriptions • Theft, alteration and forging of paper pads • Physician and patient inconvenience
85% of Texas Pharmacies accept ePCS To learn more visit
http://healthit.hhsc.texas.gov/epcs-tma
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