Navigating the Stormy Seas of Health IT

Chances are you have attended a workshop or conference recently and heard terms like “Meaningful Use Stage 2 Certified Electronic Health Record (EHR)” or “ONC Health IT 2014 Edition Testing Criteria” as requirements for your agency to continue billing Medicaid reimbursable services.  Some payers are imposing audits and denial of payment if you have not already implemented an EHR or if your EHR does not meet these criteria.

Here in North Carolina, these mandates are part of a groundwork laid by MCOs in preparation for the North Carolina Health Information Exchange (also called NC HIE or HealthConnex).  The Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA) was created by the North Carolina General Assembly to oversee and administer NC HIE (NCGS 90-414.7).  The law stipulates a deadline of February 1, 2018 by which all providers that bill NC Medicaid for reimbursement of behavioral and mental health services will be required to connect to NC HIE.  Only EHRs that meet federal guidelines and testing standards will be considered as connection points to NC HIE, and every state has incorporated similar provisions into their strategic plans for statewide HIE.

Aym Technologies LLC, the makers of OnTarget, are working hard to ensure that the OnTarget product suite meets these requirements.  In fact, we are nationally registered on the CMS Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL), which you can reach through our attestation disclosure page at http://www.ontargetconnect.com/meaningful-use-information/.

This is because OnTarget has been certified by Drummond Group, Inc. to have met ONC Health IT 2014 Edition testing standards (some refer to this as Meaningful Use Stage 2 standards).  Drummond Group, Inc. provides EHR testing and certification to healthcare information technology vendors and hospitals.  As an Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB), Drummond Group, Inc. works closely with healthcare software vendors and hospitals to certify EHRs to ONC standards.

So the next time you’re told that your behavioral health agency is contractually obligated to implement an EHR that meets federally mandated test criteria, one name should come to mind:  OnTarget.  And if your agency has already had the foresight to implement OnTarget, rest assured that your EHR has what it takes to carry you into the future of Health IT.