On Oct. 5, HHS took another step forward in its push for nationwide implementation of electronic health records when HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced proposed new regulations that will offer financial incentives for investments in health information technology.
Specifically, CMS announced a new regulatory proposal that would create exceptions to the physician self-referral law commonly known as the Stark Law. The Stark Law prohibits a physician from making referrals for a designated health service -- payable by Medicare or Medicaid -- to any entity with which the physician has a financial relationship.
According to an HHS news release, the new proposals would "allow hospitals and certain health care organizations to furnish hardware, software and related training services to physicians for e-prescribing and electronic health records, particularly when the support involves systems that are 'interoperable' and thus can exchange information effectively and securely among health care providers."
In addition, HHS' Office of Inspector General announced proposed safe harbors that would allow the donation of technology for e-prescribing and EHRs that would be exempt from enforcement under the federal anti-kickback statute.
"Restrictions on relationships between physicians and other health care entities are very important for assuring that Medicare dollars are spent appropriately, but they were never intended to stand in the way of bringing effective electronic health care to patients," said CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, M.D., in the news release. "We are bringing our rules in line with what we are working together to achieve," namely, an interoperable, electronic health care system that improves patient care, reduces medical complications, and avoids unnecessary tests and procedures.
Heath IT product certification plays an important part in the new proposals, and fine-tuning will be on hold until "nationwide product certification criteria are established and approved," said the news release. In addition, CMS is considering imposing a cap on the value of technology that may be donated by a single donor to reduce the potential for abuse such as paying physicians for referrals.
The news release also announced that $6 million has been awarded to CMS to fund e-prescribing pilot programs.
The proposed rules announced in the news release were published in the Oct. 5 Federal Register; public comment will be accepted for 60 days from that date.
