Hospital CIOs Seek More Time for Electronic Records

An organization of hospital CIOs and other health IT executives is urging the federal government to give health-care providers more time to prepare for the second stage of electronic health record implementation.

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) suggests that medical providers be given a 90-day period to demonstrate that their EHRs meet upgraded standards for meaningful use. A similar 90-day period was granted as providers worked to meet the first stage of requirements for usage. Providers must demonstrate compliance with meaningful-use standards to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid cash incentives. CHIME sent letters with its recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). “We felt the approach taken in Stage 1 gave providers much-needed time to make sure the correct fields were populating and accurate meaningful use reports were being produced – we think a similar approach is needed for Stage 2 and beyond,” says Pam McNutt, a member of CHIME’s policy steering committee