Proposed Stage 2 requirements for eligible professionals and hospitals to qualify to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record incentive program were released last evening by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). They will be published in the Federal Register on March 7, 2012.

Citing CMS officials, Modern Healthcare reports the proposed Stage 2 meaningful use requirements will “raise the bar” for eligible professionals and hospitals on the use of EHRs, electronic prescribing (eRx), and capturing specified patient-health measures. Under the proposed standards, physicians and hospitals would be required to use computerized physician order entry (CPOE) for more than 60 percent of medication, laboratory and radiology orders, which is double what is required under Stage 1 standards.

As more information becomes available, NCMS will be providing updates in the Bulletin and on the NCMS Health Information Technology (HIT) Resource Center.