Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

AAFP Again Asks Feds to Pause Meaningful Use Program

Healthcare Informatics: The Leawood, Kan.-based American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has not hid its displeasure with the meaningful use program, most recently writing a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell asking her to hit the pause button on the program.

On Oct. 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released both the Stage 3 final rule and the Stage 2 modifications final rule together in a 752-page document. Most health IT leaders responded to the rule with cautious optimism, and many further believed that the required start date of 2018 for Stage 3 is too soon. Specifically regarding the Stage 3 final rule, CMS announced a 60-day public comment period to facilitate additional stakeholder feedback. Soon after that, AAFP launched a Speak Out tool to help family physicians demand that their representatives do just that against the MU program.

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