ICD-10 may be delayed until 2015 — a development that has disappointed many in the healthcare industry — but providers and clinics still have another important transition to make this year. October 1, 2014 marks the deadline for when eligible practitioners must begin their 90-day reporting period for Meaningful Use Stage 2 implementation or else face a fine next year. While updating chiropractic EHR for Stage 2 may seem like an easy enough task at first glance, the upgrade may be more difficult for some than initially expected.

To better ease the impact this will have on your practice, EHR Intelligence has compiled a handful of guidelines to keep in mind that can help keep workflow as smooth as possible when making the switch to Stage 2:

• Choose vendors that meet CEHRT qualifications: It's essential that when choosing from certified EHR technology (CEHRT) vendors that you only use products that meet 2014's criteria. The rush to reach this October's deadline could lead some to investing in products that may be subpar and could end up putting your practice even further behind. Luckily, vendors are required to be more transparent about whether or not their products meet these qualifications as well as the costs associated with their implementation.
• It won't be as easy as Stage 1: Misconceptions about the ease of adopting Stage 2 could end up making the process more challenging. "Just as we saw in Stage 1 when people started to dig into the details, they are realizing that it may be a little bit more complicated than what they had anticipated," cautioned Randy Hountz, Principal Advisor-Operations of Purdue Healthcare Advisors, when speaking with the source. "Folks are starting to realize that Stage 2 is hard and they're going to need some help to get there." Providers must take steps to ensure that they are committing enough resources to upgrading their chiropractic EHR software to meet Stage 2 requirements.
• Maintain your reporting period: Changing your chiropractic documentation software is no simple feat, and it's one that can pose disruptions to a clinic's day-to-day workflow. It's important to take this into account before beginning your practice's 90-day reporting period for Stage 2 (which must start no later than October 1). If you end up falling behind, you could face penalties in 2015 for non-participation.

This is one of the main reasons why it's imperative to invest in the best chiropractic EHR software possible, ensuring that you can make the switch to Stage 2 this year without impacting your practice's workflow and putting both your administrative duties and Meaningful Use reporting behind schedule.