CMS turns EHR adoption focus toward post-acute providers

In the drive for adoption of electronic health records, the post-acute sector has been overlooked. That’s slowly changing as the CMS begins to shift its attention that way.

As part of its long-awaited interoperability proposed rule released last month, the CMS issued a request for information seeking industry feedback on how it can give post-acute providers incentives to adopt interoperable health information technology systems. The agency has largely attributed the sector’s lag in EHR adoption to lack of federal incentives, since providers in the post-acute setting weren’t eligible for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.

“We are asking for comments on how CMS can ensure that post-acute care providers adopt health technology, allowing for a more...