Associations Endorse Delay in Stage 2 Meaningful Use Attestation

Several healthcare associations endorsed in a June 16 letter a federal advisory committee's recommendation that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology delay the first deadlines for stage 2 meaningful use attestation for electronic health records from 2013 to 2014.

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelieus, organizations including the American Medical Association and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society say there should be at least an 18 month gap between the file rules on stage 1 meaningful use certification and standards, and the start of the second stage.

HHS stands to disperse up to $27.4 billion in incentive payments for medical practices to adopt electronic records, provided the practices make meaningful use of the software, as measured by around 20 metrics, such as whether EHRs are used to maintain an active medication list. HHS published final stage 1 rules in July 2010.