CMS announced on January 17, 2013, that it is changing its claims processing systems to enable eligible practitioners (EPs) who furnish outpatient services in critical access hospitals (CAHs) to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentives Program.  For EPs who furnish outpatient CAH services that are billed in the CAH’s name, CMS’s updated systems will identify such services as EP services for purposes of verifying EP eligibility and other program requirements.  EPs practicing in CAHs will be able to attest to the Stage 1 Meaningful Use criteria beginning in January 2014 for the 2013 reporting period. CMS’s Fact Sheet announcing the change is available here.

Reporter, Christopher Kenny, Washington, D.C., +1 202 626 9253, ckenny@kslaw.com.