Radiologists can breathe a sigh of relief now that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has updated the hardship exception rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use.
On January 8, in response to mounting inquiries by the American College of Radiology (ACR), the CMS addressed issues over the fact that there was only a single Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) code for all of radiology.
CMS took the opportunity to also redefine which radiologists are qualified to apply for a hardship exemption.
Prior to the modification, all radiologists were lumped into the same PECOS code but, now, are divided by diagnostic (30), interventional (94) or nuclear (36) radiology. CMS justified the adjustment by pointing out that all of these sub-specialties have different workflows.
“The regulatory language overlooked the fact that there was no specialty code for radiology in the PECOS, so it needed to be further defined beyond what the regulation had in there, to know what it means if a physician’s primary specialty listing in PECOS was radiology,” said Michael Peters, director of regulatory and legislative affairs at the ACR.
In 2015, medical professionals who have not adopted EHRs and met Meaningful Use criteria will experience a drop in Medicare reimbursements.
However, certain providers can apply for temporary exemptions for up to five years by proving how the switch would present a substantial hardship for them.
Physicians in any three radiology sub-groups can opt for the specialty-based significant hardship exception. Meaning those who are eligible will not be penalized for Meaningful Use violations in 2015.
The CMS can only grant exemptions for up to five years, though, so this is only temporary relief from penalties.
Eventually, all medical providers will have to attest to Meaningful Use practices.
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