Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Status on 2014 MU2 certification. Where are we?

Does anybody know where AC stands regarding 2014 Meaningful Use stage 2 update?

Can AC support answer?

Apparently only about 10% of all EMRs have achieved this.

http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/graphic-meaningful-use-2

Thank you.

I have given up on MU

At the AC User Conference in Boston in September the word was MU Stage 2 will be coded by the end of the year. Then it needs to be approved by CMS?may take 1-2m. Stage 2 for 2014 we only have to attest for 90d so we con't have to start using it till 10/1/14.

What if we have already attested for 2 years in MU1?
I am dropping out-- I can't handle this any more.

Can I get back at the end of 2014?

Are we just confined to Limbo because we started but can't continue?

Good question Tom. I don't know what would happen if you stopped and then restarted. Why drop out now? Certifying for this year under MU1 is easy. MU2 is another matter. If I certify for 2013 I should receive another $8000. That will drop to $4000 for 2014--the first year of MU2. Not sure it will be worth it. But Massachusetts is close to requiring MU for licensure. http://www.massmed.org/News-and-Pub...electronic-medical-records/#.UqSQ2pGgJEI

I have attested for year 1 and year 2 under MU-1

I can't attest for MU-1 again, and I don't think I have the energy or the check boxes to attest for MU-2.
Has anyone done it?

Lots of problems interacting with other EMRs. Everything going by fax, or (gasp!) US Mail.

And as far as the Portal is concerned -- well a few people have used it, but it's mainly a gimmick in my practice

I thought all of meaningful use was a gimmick. We have completed and been reimbursed for MU-1 for the last 2 years.

I ask my staff about our readiness regarding MU-2, and I am told we are just waiting for 1/2/2014 to submit.

I'm not sure they understand, but they just keep telling me we are a go.

I'm going to take care of my patients for now.

Thank you Dr. John Howland.

It would appear, when we earn $8 k it would be 8K sans 2%. About: 160 less.

MU3 implementation got delayed by 1 yr. Not 2014 MU2.

http://histalk2.com/2013/12/06/cms-proposes-meaningful-use-stages-23-pushback/

http://www.practicefusion.com/blog/cms-announces-stage-3-meaningful-use-pushed-back-2017/

I attested for one year and then dropped out. When I started hearing that they had hired a 3rd party organization, with the express purpose of auditing doctors over this (an attempt to reclaim some of the money), I said forget it! They have sinister intentions and therefore I will not participate.

A few thoughts and opinions in response to the above:

@Joseph: As John Howland said, AC plans to have their MU2 certified version ready in early to mid-2014, which will allow plenty of time for your 90 days of attestation. You asked for an answer directly from the company; AC offers webinars several times a week on the topic with Q and A after, so you can get an up-to-date, direct response if you choose. Here is the webinar schedule.
John is also correct that 2013 payments are reduced due to sequestration ($11,760 if it is your second year, and $7,840 if it is the third).

In one of their FAQ's (sorry, but I couldn't quickly find the reference) CMS has explicitly stated that you can stop for a year or two and then resume getting payments, if you choose to meet the requirements and attest at that point.


Frank, their understanding may be incomplete. If 2013 is your third year, you may be ready on 1/2/2014... but that will NOT be MU-2. You will be doing your third year of stage 1, and will begin MU-2 in 2014.
In 2014 everyone will be using MU-2 (with the exception of those for whom 2014 is their first year of the whole process).

You can do it, Tom if you want. MU-2 isn't in place yet so no one has used it. Your third year would still be under MU-1.
Look at page 11 of this extensive summary to see where you stand.

And for the opinion part...
I think I understand the arguments for and against attestation pretty well. I can understand both points of view. I think this is a decision for each provider to make, and there is no blanket right or wrong answer. In fact, I think it is appropriate to re-visit the decision annually as you go through the process. From a business standpoint, I have made the decision that a year-4 payment of $4000 which will require meeting MU2 requirements is not worth it (even though it only requires a 90 day attestation period). I would rather use the time and effort to see more patients and to try to improve my practice quality in other ways than those chosen by CMS.
One might come to the same conclusion in year-3 if it requires a full year of clicking to receive $8000.

Great posts, Jon.

I'm sympathetic to the frustration with meaningless use. But the train seems to have left the station and I think we should all prepare for more MU or its equivalent from big insurance/ACO's. The problems with Obamacare are temporary--I don't see it getting truly derailed. I figure I have about five years left as a solo-doc before I have to join a mega-group. I don't see much point in getting off the train at this point.

Financially, the MU2 incentive is pretty trivial. I'm leaning towards pursuing MU2 more to stay in the mainstream of medicine rather than because it will make a big difference to the bottom line. And if the regulators in Massachusetts have their way, docs will have to play the MU game or lose their license.

But then again, maybe it will be too much of a hassle...

This is the first I have heard of Year 3 under MU-1!
Our Oregon state techy guy seems to think we should be attesting for MU-2, but just for a 90 day period.

I appreciate the above posts; but I am totally confused.

I will read through the material and the FAQ's -- but 2013 might have to be a moratorium...

$8000 less sequestration is not nothing at all, but the threat of audits is increasingly daunting.

I'm not doing MU2 in 2014 for the possibility of only $4000. Some of the stage 2 mandates are very hard to achieve. For example, getting 55% (rather than 40% in stage 1) of labs as structured data. Even if I would get the $4000, then there is the possibility of being audited and having to fund a defense.

There is a CMS website which will tell you where you stand re: MU1, Mu2, Mu3

A bit antiquated as it does not give providers 2% discount.

http://cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guid...Participation-Timeline.html#.Uqd1b9JDuSo