Hospitals and eligible professionals will continue to report clinical quality measures for electronic health records meaningful use via attestation in 2012, just as they must do this year.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services remains unable to electronically accept clinical quality measures. It has confirmed the attestation model for next year in separate final rules setting Medicare’s hospital outpatient prospective payment policies and the physician fee schedule. As in 2011, the CQM results must be calculated using certified EHR technology. Both rules are available here now and being published in late November.

CMS, however, is encouraging physicians and hospitals to participate in voluntary pilot programs next year testing electronic CQM submission. Quality measures reported via attestation under the EHR incentive program are not publicly reported and CMS does not plan to publicly report such measures under the electronic submission pilot.

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