At the Forefront of Healthcare Transformation 

 ILHITREC Interchange Newsletter 
April 2019
      
Illinois Medicaid Attestation Deadline Extended to April 30 
CMS has announced that the attestation deadline for Eligible Professionals (EPs) for the Illinois Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program (formerly Illinois Medicaid Electronic Health Records [EHR] Incentive Program) for the 2018 program year has been extended to April 30, 2019. The extension applies only to EPs who have not yet attested to the Illinois Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program for the 2018 program year.
 
CMS recently extended the Medicare attestation deadline two weeks, which could potentially cut into the Medicaid attestation time-frame for practices attesting to both programs. As a result, some providers may need additional time to attest.  
 

Therefore, the Department extended the EP attestation period to April 30, 2019. For additional support, contact ILHITREC at info@ILHITREC.org or email CMS at hfs.ehrincentive@illinois.gov   
 
  __________________________________    
 

Sign-Up Today for ILHITREC's  
Webinar Series on 
Medicaid Promoting Interoperability
Program Measures       
 		  
Wednesday, April 17, noon-1 pm (CDT): 2019 Patient Electronic Access  
& Patient Education
 
What You'll Learn: 
  • The requirements for meeting this NEW measure for 2019 and any exclusions available to Medicaid providers. 
  • Best Practices from other Illinois practices on how to meet this measure.
  • New ways to meet this objective and changes from previous years including paper-based actions that are no longer allowed or required to be counted for patient education calculations.
    Tuesday, May 14, noon-1 pm (CDT):
     2019 Coordination of Care  
     through Patient Engagement
 
     What You'll Learn:
  • The requirements for meeting this NEW measure for 2019 and any exclusions available to providers.
     
  • Strategies to engage your patients in the use of the patient portal including entering patient-generated health data.
 
REGISTER NOW  
FOR MAY 14 WEBINAR! 
 
Tuesday, June 11, noon-1 pm (CDT):
2019 Health Information  
Exchange Objective
 
What You'll Learn:
 
  • This webinar will discuss the elements and definitions of the 2019 Health Information Exchange Objective and offer suggestions on meeting the measures as well as any exclusions available to Eligible Professionals.
 
REGISTER NOW  
FOR JUNE 11 WEBINAR!
 
     Tuesday, July 16, noon-1 pm (CDT): 
      2019 Public Health & Clinical Data       
      Registry Reporting Objective
 
     What You'll Learn:
  • This webinar will discuss the elements and definitions of the 2019 Public Health & Clinical Data Registry Reporting Objective and offer suggestions on meeting the measures as well as any exclusions available to Eligible Professionals.
 
 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Questions? Contact us at info@ILHITREC.org.
                                       __________________________________        
 
CMS Advances Interoperability & Patient Access  
to Health Data through New Proposals
 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed policy changes supporting its MyHealthEData initiative to improve patient access and advance electronic data exchange and care coordination throughout the healthcare system. The Interoperability and Patient Access Proposed Rule outlines opportunities to make patient data more useful and transferable through open, secure, standardized, and machine-readable formats while reducing restrictive burdens on healthcare providers. In addition to the policy proposals, CMS is releasing two Requests for Information (RFIs) to obtain feedback on interoperability and health information technology (health IT) adoption in Post-Acute Care (PAC) settings, and the role of patient matching in interoperability and improved patient care. For more information, visit the   CMS website .
 __________________________________    
      
Updated 2019 Medicaid Specification Sheets
 
CMS has updated its Promoting Interoperability Programs webpages to include program year 2019 information and details:
 _______________________________     
 
Submit Patient Volume for Pre-Approval  
for Medicaid EHR Program Year 2018 
 
ILHITREC encourages Illinois providers participating in the eMIPP program to submit patient volume for pre-approval for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program for the 2018 Program Year as soon as possible to avoid any delays in attestation. Use the format below to provide the following information via email to   hfs.ehrincentive@illinois.gov:
  • Payee TIN = _________________
  • Payee NPI __________________
  • Group or individual numbers?  _______________
  • Provider type:  (physician, hospital, dentist)  _________________
  • Selecting a Date Range: (Select Calendar Year 2017 only for Pre-Approval
     - Date Range: Calendar Year, any 90-day period in 2017 ___________
     - Can not use the same date or overlap date used for Attestation Year 2017
  • Straight Medicaid (only traditional Medicaid & All Kids) = _______________
  • Medicaid Managed Care = ________________
  • Total Encounters for all payees = ________________
Primary Contact:
Primary Phone:
Primary Email: 
 
Please note that ILHITREC's Clinical Informatics Specialists are trained to assist you with any questions or concerns related to the EHR Incentive Programs. Contact us at  info@ILHITREC.org or visit ILHITREC.org for complete details on the wide variety of services provided by ILHITREC. 
 
About Support Provided by ILHITREC
The Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (ILHITREC), under contract with the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS), is providing education, outreach, EHR, and Meaningful Use support to Medicaid providers for the Promoting Interoperability Program. Contact us at info@ILHITREC.org.