The 2024 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule came out last week, with some important updates for rehab therapy.
Notably, the Final Rule has ended automatic reweighting of the MIPS Promoting Interoperability category for rehab therapists, and now requires the use of certified EHR technology for 180 days out of the 2024 performance year.
If you’re using an EMR for PT, OT, or SLP documentation, you may be asking: “What is a certified EHR? Do we have one? What’s the difference between an EMR vs. EHR? Is there time to switch?”
Don’t worry, you’re in the right place to answer those questions. With over a decade of experience in health law, privacy, and compliance, I’ve been closely watching the regulatory changes that have led to this point.
So let’s get you caught up to speed, and explore the history, definition, requirements, and benefits of ONC-certified EHRs.
Timeline of Health IT and Electronic Health Records (EHR) Regulation
For many practices, staying up-to-date with compliance means rolling with the punches year after year, adapting to regulatory updates in real time. But to understand the significance of CEHRT, you have to take a look at the long-term trends in health IT regulation and how they’ve been directly linked to Medicare payments and incentive structures in the U.S.
Follow along with this timeline of health IT and electronic health record regulation—or skip ahead to the next section.
What Are the Reasons Behind ONC Certification of EHR Technology?
ONC certification standards are designed to support the goal of widespread adoption of EHRs and health data sharing. Certified EHRs create and transmit data in standardized formats, which can be shared securely between health systems—referred to as interoperability. The certification process requires third-party verification of certain features in the EHR to demonstrate capability of supporting care coordination and interoperability.
What Is the EHR Certification Process?
The 21st Century Cures Act established the latest criteria for EHR certification, called the 2015 HealthIT criteria. HealthIT vendors must satisfy the criteria of the 2015 Edition and pass testing to become certified health record technology (CEHRT). Conducted by third-party assessors, the certification process is voluntary and rigorous.
Certification criteria highlights include:
- Interoperability for electronic patient health data exchange.
- Patient engagement features for accessing health information.
- Care coordination requirements for proper transmission of health data to other providers.
What Are the Benefits of CEHRT for PT, OT, and SLP?
Using certified EHR technology is beneficial to the rehabilitation therapy practice for a number of reasons. Certified EHRs are designed to:
Promote Care Coordination
Certified EHRs can connect with other provider types, such as hospitals and outpatient centers, to coordinate care and improve care quality.
Being connected, or interoperable, saves administrative and provider time by allowing patient health data and eReferrals to flow seamlessly and securely among different health IT systems. Data is stored using a standardized “language,” allowing health information to be used by all providers to deliver evidence-based, quality intervention.
Create a Better Patient Experience
Not only do EHR systems help practices protect patients’ right under HIPAA to access their health records, but they can also benefit patient engagement. With complete records at their fingertips, patients can stay up-to-date and informed of their own health status and treatment goals. Most of all, patients can benefit from more streamlined, safe, and fine-tuned treatment, enabled by interoperability. Accessible + personalized care = better outcomes and happy patients!
Protect Patient Safety
Certified EHRs undergo focused security evaluation as part of the certification process.
CEHRT is designed to make patients’ electronic health record data privately and securely to both patients and their authorized providers. Features that protect the security of patient data include audit trails, data encryption, password protection and access control tools, and more.
Support Medicare Reimbursement
For those who participate in the Quality Payment Program, the use of CEHRT is a requirement of the MIPS Promoting Interoperability performance category. Though rehab therapy has not been required to report in the PI category in the past, the 2024 PFS Final Rule has ended automatic reweighting. Providers not using certified EHR for 180 days out of the performance year will lose valuable points and may face the 9% downward payment adjustment to their Medicare reimbursements in the affected payment year.
How to Find a Certified EHR 🔎
To make it easier to find CEHRT, you can search the ONC Certified Health IT Product List.
Which Is Better for Rehab Therapy: EMR or Certified EHR Technology?
Many EHRs are designed with physician practices and hospitals in mind, which is why some physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology and multi-specialty therapy practices have opted for specialized EMRs. But with changes in Medicare regulation, an increasing emphasis on interoperability, and the benefits of using EHRs, many practices are making the switch.
Ultimately, the choice will have to do with the needs of your unique practice. But when you’re making that decision, keep in mind:
- You don’t have to choose between CEHRT and specialized documentation for rehabilitation therapy!
- You don’t have to use burdensome manual processes or countless third-party integrations to make physician-focused EHRs work for your workflows!
- In fact, you don't even have to leave this site to take the next step toward CEHRT.
Meet Raintree Systems' Certified EHR and Award-Winning Platform
Raintree offers the only certified EHR designed specifically for the outpatient rehabilitation therapy practice setting.
Our unified platform includes award-winning systems for: clinical documentation; patient engagement, digital intake, and payment processing; billing; revenue cycle management; business intelligence, and more.
As a reminder: In order to meet the MIPS Promoting Interoperability requirements in 2024—25% of the total score—you need to demonstrate use of CEHRT for 180 days within the performance year.
If you’re not already using a certified EHR, time is short. Implementing a new system doesn’t happen overnight. Schedule a demo with Raintree, today.
Veda Collmer, JD, CIPP/US, Raintree Systems’ General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, brings more than 10 years of experience in health law, privacy and compliance. Veda received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Public Health Law Fellowship in 2012 and completed her fellowship at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
