CMS posts public health, registry EHR readiness data

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted a “centralized repository” of public health agencies and registries ready to electronically receive public health data from hospitals and eligible professionals. To satisfy Stage 2 meaningful use requirements under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs, hospitals must determine the readiness of local public health agencies and registries to receive electronic submissions of public health data, and send data electronically to those agencies and registries that are ready. According to CMS, the absence of an entry in its centralized repository is not sufficient documentation for claiming an exclusion to the public health reporting requirement. “Providers must check with the jurisdictional public health agencies or specialty societies to which they belong and document that information to satisfy Medicare or Medicaid reporting,” the agency said. For more information, see CMS FAQs 13657, 14117 and 13653.