2015 Will Bring New EHR Challenges for Physicians http://goo.gl/SCYkSZ

1. 2015 Will Bring New EHR Challenges for
Physicians
© CureMD Healthcare

2. Challenges For Physicians
• The healthcare industry is in the midst of major
transformation with numerous technology updates,
changing codes and regulations, and improvements
to methods of delivery, and all with one goal in mind:
to improve patient care and safety and critical data
security
• In this age of continuous evolution, physicians,
especially those in small- and medium-sized
practices, face many challenges as they strive to fully
adopt Electronic Health Records (EHR) and contend
with stricter federal mandates

3. ICD-10 Code
• With 2015 quickly approaching, private practices can
expect new EMR challenges as they try to keep up
with the accelerated pace of the industry’s
advancement
The ICD-10 has a code for just about everything
• The deadline for ICD-10 conversion is October 1,
2015, and overworked providers are facing a
potential negative impact on productivity and other
numerous challenges with these clinical
documentation improvements

4. ICD-10 Code
• For starters, it will take physicians and staff much
time to learn 68,000 diagnosis and 87,000 procedure
codes in ICD-10 (compare that to 14,000 diagnosis
and 4,000 procedure codes in the ICD-9 system)
• Failure to get everyone up to speed on the new
codes could result in a devastating loss of
productivity and revenue that could put the stability
of the entire practice at risk

5. ICD-10 Code
• Secondly, once everyone is “up to speed,” there is
still concern that physicians will be forced to spend
more time searching for codes than dealing directly
with patients
• The initial 2014 deadline was pushed back, thanks to
outspoken physicians’ groups like the American
Medical Association (AMA) and the Medical Group
Management Association (MGMA)

6. ICD-10 Code
• But there is a belief among many providers that this
new deadline still does not allow enough time to
update systems and infrastructure, train staff, and
generate enough claims to test the system against
health plans and claims clearinghouses
• AMA President Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven:
– “The AMA has long considered ICD-10 to be an unfunded
mandate that comes at a time when physicians are being
asked to make a number of other significant changes to
their practices”

7. 365 days of EHR reporting
365 days of EHR reporting
• Come 2015, providers will be required to report a full
year of Meaningful Use instead of the previous 90
day period
• Many healthcare leaders in the industry have called
for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) to shorten the reporting period and offer
more program flexibility

8. 365 days of EHR reporting
• The push for flexible requirements is based on
the release of disappointing Meaningful Use data by
CMS which shows the industry is struggling to
demonstrate capabilities
• According to the CMS documentation, less than 17
percent of the nation’s hospitals have demonstrated
Stage 2 capabilities

9. 365 days of EHR reporting
• Further, less than 38 percent of eligible hospitals
(EHs) and critical access hospitals (CAHs) have met
either Stage of Meaningful Use in 2014, highlighting
the difficulty of program requirements and
foretelling continued struggles in 2015
• And while eligible professionals (EPs) have until the
end of February to report their progress, only 2
percent have demonstrated Stage 2 capabilities thus
far

10. 365 days of EHR reporting
• Industry experts continue to make the case that
physicians are facing significant challenges in keeping
up with stricter Meaningful Use requirements, and
unless the reporting period is shortened, there may
very well be continued dissatisfaction with EHRs and
disenchantment with Meaningful Use
• Those providers who are unable to participate in the
Meaningful Use program will face a 1% penalty on
their Medicare reimbursements in 2015

11. 365 days of EHR reporting
• The penalties are expected to increase 1% every
year until 2019
• The transition from incentives to penalties illustrates
CMS’ objective of motivating physicians to make
greater use of IT in an effort to focus on quality and
outcomes

12. EHR Audits
More EHR audits on the way
• According to the 2015 work plan recently released by
the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), healthcare
providers can expect to meet with even
more audits in the coming year
• To illustrate they mean business, OIG requested an
increase of $105 million in next year’s budget as well
as 284 additional full-time employees

13. EHR Audits
• Besides examining IT security and compliance, OIG
will be investigating EHR and healthcare fraud.
• Specifically, OIG will perform audits of various
covered entities and their business associates that
receive EHR incentive payments from CMS
• Identify EHR system and reporting fraud as well as
bogus Medicaid and Medicare EHR incentive
payment claims; analyze IT security and …

14. Meeting The Challenges
Review the CMS IT systems to verify necessary security
measures have been adopted
Meeting the challenges
• The benefits of EHR are clear, as are the numerous
challenges facing healthcare providers in the coming
years
• For the continued evolution of healthcare to be
successful, two things will need to happen
– providers must move past barriers and fully commit to
adopting EHR

15. Read more on blog.curemd.com
• Government agencies must loosen regulations, or at the very
least, slow the pace of regulation modifications
• To read more on this topic, visit:
• http://blog.curemd.com/2015-will-bring-new-ehr-
challenges-for-physicians/

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