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CMS: Meaningful Use program 'effectively over'
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CMS will cease the Meaningful Use program, acknowledging that focus will move "towards the outcome [physicians] achieve with their patients," acting administrator Andy Slavitt said at the J.P. Morgan Annual Health Care Conference, according to a transcript of the talk.
"The Meaningful Use program as it has existed, will now be effectively over and replaced with something better," Slavitt said. "Since late last year we have been working side by side with physician organizations across many communities — including with great advocacy from the AMA — and have listened to the needs and concerns of many."
Slavitt explained that details will be released over the following months and outlined additional aspects of future implementation.
He said that there will be several technology updates that will allow systems to be "user-centered and support physicians, not distract them."
"Providers will be able to customize their goals so tech companies can build around the individual practice needs, not the needs of the government," Slavitt said in his talk.
Slavitt said that CMS will require open application programming interfaces to “allow apps, analytic tools and connected technologies to get data in and out of an [electronic health record] securely.”
In addition, Slavitt stressed a concentration on interoperability and collaborating with consumers and physicians to maximize technology efficiency. He said that the initiatives will help close referral loops and engage patients in their care.
Both ACP and AMA had previously filed comments on the Stage 3 Meaningful Use program, calling for changes that would better suit physicians' needs.
"ACP's members are very frustrated and dissatisfied with the current meaningful use program," Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, ACP president, said in a release. "Even those who can meet the requirements feel that it is a distraction and inconvenience from taking care of our patients. We look forward to working collaboratively with CMS to address its shortcomings."
"Doctors want to spend their time with patients, not measuring the number of clicks," Steven J. Stack, MD, AMA president, said in a release. "We want a successful transition to digital health records, and we also want the new Medicare law to succeed. It will take thoughtful changes in the regulations to support physicians as they treat patients through new models of care."
In his talk, Slavitt also acknowledged other updates for 2016.
"The day-to-day work of CMS at this point in time is to start up new consumer and provider-facing capabilities and then scale them, nurture and mature them," he said. "It demands we change our culture and execute with clarity, with discipline, and with collaboration. Things we haven’t always been known for."
Another focus for the upcoming year will be the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model. With CMS' announcement of 21 new ACOs, there will be a total of 475 ACOs with 30,000 physicians participating nationwide.
"Many have wondered whether ACOs would succeed or would end up in the dustbin of health care’s three-letter acronyms," Slavitt stated. "As a recovering entrepreneur, I can certainly tell you that the execution in the first stage is often the hardest part. But today’s news is strong evidence that ACOs will be part of ushering in the new wave of alternative payment models. They have demonstrated improvements in quality, patient experience and have been certified to reduce costs."
Slavitt also committed to simplifying programs with implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, modernizing Medicaid coverage by attracting companies to invest in Medicaid IT and ensuring stability of the Health Insurance Marketplaces. He said that CMS is making changes over the next 45 days, such as eliminating select open enrollment periods and reviewing risk adjustment methodology.
"We must execute in our role as a market catalyst and signaler — signaling that care delivery payments are changing, and reward people who provide the best care and we are pushing to a tipping point by 2018," Slavitt concluded in his talk. "Signaling that Medicaid, with the benefit of new innovation, will be a priority area of growth and innovation; and signaling that we have the focus, the tools and the experience to continue to make sure the Marketplace remains healthy." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes