Last week, the American Medical Association and other medical societies let their voices be heard in regard to Meaningful Use and the proposed rules for Stage 3. Via a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the AMA urged the government to delay the Meaningful Use Stage 3 rollout.
It now appears these medical societies have additional support for the Stage 3 delay as more than 100 members of Congress have signed a letter of their own, asking for a hold in the Stage 3 rollout.
"We are writing to ask that you refrain from finalizing Meaningful Use Stage 3 at this time and work to refocus the program to better serve patients and the providers who care for them," the letter states.
Spearheading this cause from Congress is Representative Renee Ellmers (R-NC). Rep. Ellmers has called for changes to the Meaningful Use program in the past, and in this latest push for adjustments, the amount of time --or lack thereof -- for certified EHR technology to grow and mature is the biggest worry.
As a possible solution, the Congressional members state in their letter to OMB and HHS that allowing for additional time in regard to the Stage 3 rollout would benefit both EHR vendors and policymakers.
"We should incentivize technology that enables interoperability and improves health outcomes rather than incentivizing technology that counts how many times a provider performs an activity ... taking the time to get it right now will surely pay dividends in the future."
"Further, pausing Stage 3 at this time will provide the opportunity to evaluate the environment after these regulatory changes and consider the implementation issues surrounding the MIPS and APMs," the letter continues.
Members of Congress have given OMB and HHS 30 days to respond to their letter.
