Looking ahead to 2014

2014 is almost upon us and promises to be another challenging year for the health care and health information technology industries, with several deadlines and milestones.

From CMS, here are some of the important eHealth milestones:

• January 1, 2014: 
  • Start of Stage 2 for eligible professionals (EPs) beginning their third or fourth year of participation in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Learn more about Stage 2.
  • Final eRx payment adjustment of 2% will be applied during the 2014 calendar year (EPs subject to the payment adjustment will receive 98% of their Medicare Part B PFS amount for covered professional services). For more information, review the eRx Payment Adjustment Fact Sheet and the eRx Updates for 2013 Fact Sheet.

Please note that Medicare EPs in their second year or beyond of demonstrating meaningful use will need to electronically report their CQMs for the full calendar year of 2014 (January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014). This means providers will submit their CQM data between January 1, 2015 and February 28, 2015.
 

• February 28, 2014:
  • Deadline for EPs to submit their calendar year (CY) 2013 data to receive a Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) incentive payment for 2013. It is also the last day for Medicare EPs participating in the Electronic Reporting Pilot to submit quality data to satisfy both PQRS and the CQM requirement of the EHR Incentive Program. Learn more about the PQRS program, and the EHR Incentive Program Electronic Reporting Pilot.
  • Deadline for EPs to register and attest to demonstrating meaningful use for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program to receive an incentive payment for the 2013 reporting year. Medicaid registration and attestation deadlines may differ by state.
• October 1, 2014:
  •  Transition date from ICD-9 to ICD-10 codes for diagnoses and inpatient procedures. Step-by-step CMS resources can help you make sure you’re prepared for the transition.
  • Last day for Medicare EPs to begin their three months of meaningful use in 2014. Medicare EPs who do not achieve meaningful use in 2013 and 2014 will be subject to payment adjustments in 2015 and 2016, respectively.  (Medicare EPs who haven't started meaningful use before 2014 will have one last chance*). Payment adjustments start at 1% and are cumulative for every year that an EP does not participate.

*Note that Medicare EPs who first demonstrate meaningful use in 2014 must demonstrate meaningful use for a 90-day reporting period in 2014 to avoid payment adjustments in 2015. This reporting period must occur in the first 9 months of calendar year 2014, and EPs must attest to meaningful use no later than October 1, 2014, in order to avoid the payment adjustments.

Observers haven't given up hope that the start of meaningful use stage 2 might be delayed, but all that has been announced to date is a delay in the start of stage 3.  It seems even less likely that ICD-10 implementation will be delayed again in spite of ample evidence that the industry isn't ready yet.

As Bette Davis might say, "Fasten your seatbelts.  It's going to be a bumpy night."