Meaningful use audits: What you need to know

A meaningful use audit doesn't have to be painful.

A meaningful use audit doesn't have to be painful.

Who among us hasn't been audited by the federal or state government over a tax return, for example, despite the fact that we completed our documentation as dutifully as in years past? If you are preparing to transition to chiropractic EHR to qualify for the meaningful use incentive, it is essential to prepare for this eventuality to some degree to ensure that you and your staff are not taken off-guard.

Recently, Healthcare IT News provided a list of all-too-common pitfalls that can leave you in hot water in the event of a meaningful use audit. These slip ups include the lack of a designated member of staff to oversee your chiropractic management software and the meaningful use application process in general. While everyone in your practice should be familiar with your system to some degree, there should be one point of contact who has a view of the bigger picture, and can therefore be tapped as a resource to help reconcile any miscommunications with the government.

In addition, overlooking lapses in documentation based on the belief that you can account for missing reports at a later date is also a surefire way to make the auditing process a greater strain on your time and resources than it needs to be.

This topic was also addressed at the recent CHIME13 CIO Conference in Scottsdale Arizona, where health care professionals gathered to discuss and debate the latest challenges in healthcare IT. "Most of the [meaningful use auditing] issues center around documentation, the things to keep, especially for the yes/no measures," deputy director of the Health IT Initiatives Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Robert Anthony said in an interview with FierceEMR last week.

Meaningful use stage 2 is fast approaching, so if you have any concerns about the requirements for this incentive program, you need a chiropractic EHR provider you can rely on. The best chiropractic EHR software should be designed to adapt to this shift, putting you in the best position to respond to changing federal regulations.

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