HHS Issues Long-Awaited HIT Rules - January 5, 2010

On December 30, HHS issued its proposed health information technology (HIT) incentive payment rule and interim final HIT certification rule. Both rules will be published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2010. The incentive payment rule sets forth proposed criteria that hospitals and eligible professionals must meet to qualify as meaningful electronic health record (EHR) users and to be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments, as well as other details of the incentive payment program implementation. The certification rule sets forth an initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for EHRs. Comments on the HIT incentive payment rule must be filed within 60 days from the date of publication; comments on the certification rule must be filed within 30 days of the date of publication. NAPH is closely reviewing the rules and will issue a detailed analysis in the coming days.