News Release 
 
 
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services  202-690-6343 
News Division        media@hhs.gov 
  www.hhs.gov/news
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Thursday, August 23, 2012 
 
                         
                        HHS announces next steps to promote use of electronic health records  
                                                             and health information exchange 
 
Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the next steps in the Obama 
administrations work to help doctors and hospitals use electronic health records.  
 
The changes were announcing today will lead to more coordination of patient care, reduced medical errors, 
elimination of duplicate screenings and tests and greater patient engagement in their own care, Secretary 
Sebelius said. 
 
Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, doctors, health 
care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they 
adopt and meaningfully use certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.  
 
More than 120,000 eligible health care professionals and more than 3,300 hospitals have qualified to 
participate in the program and receive an incentive payment since it began in January 2011. That exceeds a 
100,000 goal set earlier this year. 
 
That includes more than half of all eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals and 1 out of every 5 
eligible health care professionals.  The program is divided into three stages: 
  Stage 1 sets the basic functionalities electronic health records must include such as capturing data 
electronically and providing patients with electronic copies of health information. 
  Stage 2 (which will begin as early as 2014) increases health information exchange between 
providers and promotes patient engagement by giving patients secure online access to their health 
information. 
  Stage 3 will continue to expand meaningful use objectives to improve health care outcomes. 
 
Today, HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and HHS Office of the National Coordinator for 
Health IT released final requirements for stage 2 that hospitals and health care providers must meet in 
order to qualify for incentives during the second stage of the program, and criteria that electronic health 
records must meet to achieve certification.   - more - 
 
 
                  - 2 - 
 
The requirements announced today:  
  Make clear that stage two of the program will begin as early as 2014. No providers will be required 
to follow the Stage 2 requirements outlined today before 2014. 
  Outline the certification criteria for the certification of EHR technology, so eligible professionals and 
hospitals may be assured that the systems they use will work, help them meaningfully use health 
information technology, and qualify for incentive payments.  
  Modify the certification program to cut red tape and make the certification process more efficient. 
  Allow current 2011 Edition Certified EHR Technology to be used until 2014. 
 
The CMS final rule also provides a flexible reporting period for 2014 to give providers sufficient time to 
adopt or upgrade to the latest EHR technology certified for 2014.  
 
A fact sheet on CMSs final rule is available at http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp. 
 
A detailed fact sheet on ONCs standards and certification criteria final rule is available at 
http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification. 
 
The final rules announced today may be viewed at 
http://www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1. More information on the Stage 2 
rule can be found at the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website at www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms.  
 
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