What Does It Mean to be a “Certified” Chiropractic EHR Software?
Certified Chiropractic Software – There are many options out there when it comes to chiropractic software. When deciding on a chiropractic software, be sure that is it a certified EHR. Here’s why!
Certified Chiropractic Software
As a chiropractor, it is essential that your software protects your patients’ data and meets Meaningful Use standards. Certified chiropractic EHR software meets those standards, allowing you to have full confidence in your system. In addition, if you want to participate in Medicare’s EHR Quality Payment Program (QPP), you must have a certified chiropractic EHR software. Practices participating in QPP are eligible for monetary rewards when offering higher value care.
Government Certification – ONC Certified EHR
Certification of EHR software falls under the jurisdiction of the federal Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), which falls under the office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCB) are organizations approved by the government to perform EHR testing and modification. When a chiropractic EHR system is certified, it receives ONB-ATCB certification, basically a government stamp of approval. ONB-ATCB is the primary certification authority for all EHR systems for any type of medical practice. As HealthIT.gov explains, the ONC EHR Certification Program clearly “define the standards and other criteria for structured data that EHRs must use.” The purpose of defining the standards was to provide consistency across the industry, as well as aid in technology systems’ ability to securely share data with each other. For practitioners, it promotes the ability to use certified chiropractic EHR software “to provide care and access critical quality data for improvement and reporting.”
Meaningful Use Compliance
Meaningful Use is the informal name for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Meaningful Use is one of four components of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment Systems (MIPS). MIPS combines existing CMS programs, including MACRA, the Physician Quality Reporting System and Value-Based Payment Modifiers. With this consolidation, quality care improvement is transitioned to a single program. With MIPS, chiropractors improve not just quality, but also safety and efficiency. It aids in engaging patients and their families and improving care coordination. MIPS also maintains patient record security and privacy. Compliance results in better clinical and population health outcomes, more transparency, efficacy, and more empowered patients. MIPS includes another critical goal: stronger research data on health systems.
MIPS Scoring Impacts
Three of the four categories directly impacting a MIPS score require a certified chiropractic EHR software. These three are quality, improvement activities and advancing care information. The latter includes:
-Security risk analysis – certified EHR systems can conduct these analyses
-E-prescribing – the technology allows electronic prescriptions
-Providing patient access – patients may access their health data via patient portals linked to certified EHR chiropractic software.
-Sending a summary of care – as per HealthIT.gov, “Certified EHR technologies must be able to send a summary of care document, using a consolidated-clinical document architecture (C-CDA) compliant with reporting requirements.”
-Requesting or accepting a summary of care – request or accept a summary of care from another clinician, which complies with requirements for measurement.
The Price of Using Non-Certified Chiropractic Software
Yes, purchasing non-certified chiropractic software for a practice will cost less in the short-term. In the long-term, however, it’s a decision that could cost a practice a lot more and one the business owners may come to regret. Chiropractors should realize without a certified system they cannot participate in CMS’ incentive programs, but the argument for certified software goes beyond those particular financial rewards. If you have a smaller practice, MIPS may not prove relevant. Under the rules, doctors serving less than 100 Medicare patients, or whose Medicare Part B charges are under $30,000 don’t have to report to MIPS and MACRA. Those chiropractors participating in Medicare for the first time are also not required to report to MIPS and MACRA. However, if a chiropractor suffers a security breach in non-certified chiropractic EHR software, or if the Office of the Inspector General investigates the practice, the practitioner has more liability concerns than if a chiropractic office operates with a certified chiropractic EHR software.
ChiroTouch Chiropractic Software
With ChiroTouch, you have fully certified chiropractic EHR software. That makes completing Meaningful Use reporting quite easy. We offer Meaningful Use wizard tools and a Meaningful Use dashboard. If you require attestation, you can do so with no hassle. Our software is intuitive, integrated, and simple to learn. Call us today to schedule a demo. You’ll see how ChiroTouch’s certified chiropractic EHR software can make a difference in the way your practice runs.