Discussion: Merit-Based Incentive Payment System

Merit-Based Incentive Payment System Requirements
For this discussion, assume an organization has hired you as a consultant to analyze its compliance with the MIPS. This has been done by the organization for a twofold purpose. The first is to look at the organization’s current state of compliance and to catalog best practices in use, or which could be used, to improve or ensure compliance continues. The second purpose is to look at ways to help the organization maximize its return from EHR and HIM systems incentive programs such as value-based payment modifiers.
In your main post:
• Describe briefly an organization that will be the basis of your analysis, in your role as a consultant.
• This could be your current place of practice, a former place of practice, or any health care organization you are interested in and can research effectively.
• Summarize current components of the MIPS guidelines.
• Analyze the degree to which the organization meets current meaningful use guidelines and value-based payment modifiers.
• Describe best practices the organization is currently employing, or could implement, to improve or ensure its compliance.
• Summarize the key aspects of current EHR or HIM incentive programs.
• Explain the incentive programs that are most relevant to the organization.
• Be sure to briefly explain your rationale for selecting the incentive programs you chose.
• Describe potential strategies that the organization could implement to maximize incentive achievement.
Support your post with at least one peer-reviewed source, using course readings or other scholarly literature. Include APA-formatted in-text citations and accompanying congruent APA-formatted references.
Response Guidelines
Respond to your peers according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines.
In your response, take on the role of a leader in the organization that commissioned the analysis that your peers submitted.
• Comment on the thoroughness of the analysis.
• What information provided is likely to be the most useful?
• What information is unclear or you would like more of to better understand the organization’s current status?
• Comment on the recommendations made.
• How well do you see them helping the organization with regard to compliance and incentive achievement?
• How easy or difficult will the recommendations be to implement?
• Explain, as a leader, how the analysis will better help you to build a strategy for the organization.
Studies
Readings
Ethical Considerations
The following article will help you gain an understanding of the ethical considerations in EHR and Health IT:
• Ozair, F. F., Jamshed, N., Sharma, A., & Aggarwal, P. (2015). Ethical issues in electronic health records: A general overview. Perspectives in Clinical Research, 6(2), 73–76.
Legal and Policy
As Health IT evolves more legal and policy implications will result. The following article details key legal and policy implications”
• Cartwright-Smith, L., Gray, E., & Thorpe, J. H. (2017). Health information ownership: Legal theories and policy implications. Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, 19(2), 207–222.
Meaningful Use and Merit-Based Incentive Payments
Familiarize yourself with the MIPS by reviewing the following resources:
• Adler-Milstein, J., Everson, J., & Lee, S.-Y. D. (2014). Sequencing of EHR adoption among US hospitals and the impact of meaningful use. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 21(6), 984–991. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4215052/
• HealthIT.gov. (n.d.). Meaningful use and MACRA. Retrieved from https://www.healthit.gov/topic/meaningful-use-and-macra/meaningful-use-and-macra
• HealthIT.gov. (n.d.). Certification of heath IT. Retrieved from https://www.healthit.gov/topic/certification-ehrs/certification-health-it
• Heisey-Grove, D., & King, J. A. (2017). Physician and practice-level drivers and disparities around meaningful use progress. Health Services Research, 52(1), 244–267.
• Lammers, E. J., & McLaughlin, C. G. (2017). Meaningful use of electronic health records and medicare expenditures: Evidence from a panel data analysis of U.S. health care markets, 2010–2013. Health Services Research, 52(4), 1364–1386.
• Vinansky, M., & West, D. (2019). Physician reimbursement under MACRA: Maximizing the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. The Journal of Medical Practice Management, 34(4), 205–208.
• Read this article to get a better understanding of how health professionals are navigating the MACRA guidelines.
• HIMSS. (2008). The National Alliance for Health Information Technology report to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on defining key health information technology terms. Retrieved from https://www.himss.org/national-alliance-health-information-technology-report-office-national-coordinator-health
• Familiarize yourself with the following terms, as defined by the National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT):
 Electronic medical record (EMR) (covered in page 16 of the report) refers to “an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within one health care organization.”
 Electronic health record (EHR) (covered in page 17 of the report) refers to “an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to national interoperability standards and that can be created, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff across more than one health care organization.”

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