In many ways, 2013 was about what didn’t happen, rather than what did. Or, it was about what happened in 2012 rather than what happened in 2013.
What didn’t happen was the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) did not give eligible professionals and eligible hospitals a delay or extension for Stage 2 that would provide relief for the 2014 penalties. What did happen was many mapped out and acted on IT strategies, based on the Stage 2 final rule in August of 2012 and the Supreme Court Affordable Care Act ruling in June of that year.
In this podcast, Jason Fortin, senior advisor with Impact Advisors talks with Senior Editor Gabriel Perna about how these non-events made an impact in 2013, and how other policy issues influenced IT leaders in 2013 . Fortin says, as an industry, the year showed all health IT stakeholders that the government is going to keep pushing on with meaningful use.
“In the near term at least the requirements are going to continue to evolve and they are going to continue to get harder,” Fortin says. “Even the Stage 3 delay wasn’t even a concession to the provider organizations that were pushing for the extension or delay. It was about the government not being ready to propose a Stage 3 rule until they have more info on the Stage 2 experience.”
Later on, Fortin talks about how the meaningful use requirements both helped and hindered innovation in technology in 2013. He also predicts what we can expect from the government, providers, and all stakeholders as we head into 2014.
“The organizations that will have the most success [in 2014] will be the ones that go beyond the minimum Stage 2 requirements and aren’t just checking the box. The ones who get the value out of IT,’ Fortin says.
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