Affordable Care Act provision provides new opportunity for the use of Medicare and private sector claims data in evaluating the performance of physicians, other providers, and suppliers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed rules that will enable consumers and employers to select higher-quality, lower-cost physicians, hospitals and other health care providers in their area. The new rules will allow organizations that meet certain qualifications access to patient-protected Medicare data to produce public reports on physicians, hospitals and other health care providers. These reports will combine private sector claims data with Medicare claims data to identify which hospitals and doctors provide the highest quality, cost-effective care. This initiative is part of a broader effort by the Obama Administration, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, to improve care and lower costs.

The Office of the Federal Register says the Data Sharing proposed rule will be published on June 8th.  The public comment period will end on August 8th.

Click here for more information.

From OHITX

The portal for registration and attestation of Medicare and Medicaid is now open for EHs and EPs to register and participate in meeting Stage 1 meaningful use requirements. In order to access this portal, Eligible Professionals must have an active NPI and an NPPES Web user account. In order for Eligible Hospitals to log into the portal, they must have an active NPI as well. As of now, only 11 states are open for Medicaid enrollment. However, in February, 3 more states will be added to the list and even more will probably be ready by spring and summer of 2011.
CMS is urging EHs and EPs to register, even if their EHR hasn’t been certified yet, and/or if they aren’t yet registered within the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS). Continue to check the frequently updated list of certified EHR systems on the CMS website.

Read more here.