Medical Association Joins Call to CMS to Delay EHR Certification Requirements

The Medical Association has joined with the American Medical Association and a large number of physician organizations and state medical societies to urge federal health officials to delay 2015 electronic health record certification requirements at least one year to avoid disrupting physician practices citing the limited number of vendors that have fully upgraded their EHR systems to meet the 2015 edition of certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT).

The letter addressed to Patrick Conway, M.D., acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and Jon White, M.D., acting national coordinator of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), highlighted patient safety concerns and overall disruption in physician practices as reasons to delay the certification requirements at least a year.

Just 54 EHR products have been certified to the 2015 standards so far, leaving thousands still awaiting certification. Providers are expected to use EHR technology that meets the updated regulations by January 2018.

“Requiring physicians to upgrade to 2015 Edition technology by 2018 limits choice by forcing physicians to select a system from approximately one percent of existing products,” the letter stated. “In addition, physicians may be driven to switch vendors and utilize a system that is not suitable for their specialty or patient population due to this tight timeline.”

Click here to read the letter.