Source: Fierce Healthcare
The Biden administration is exploring requiring new certifications for provider electronic health records to help facilitate electronic prior authorization, a major source of administrative burden, officials said. A certification requirement for providers is one of the regulatory avenues the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is considering, according to ONC Director Micky Tripathi during the AHIP Medicare, Medicaid, Duals & Commercial Markets Forum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The goal is to ensure that there is something to communicate with payers who are staring down new requirements for electronic prior authorization. “It feels like there is a lot of interest in having certification kinds of requirements in EHRs,” Tripathi said, referring to comments made to a request for information issued by ONC last year. He added that ONC is working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to synchronize any new requirements for electronic prior authorization. CMS released a proposed rule late last year that mandates federal health plans, such as Medicare Advantage and Affordable Care Act plans, implement an electronic prior authorization system by 2026.