What Ophthalmology & Optometry Practices Can Do to Attest for Meaningful Use

Eye-care professionals like ophthalmologists and optometrists have largely not participated in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Meaningful Use program. For instance, of the more than 325,000 Medicare Eligible Professionals actively registered for the program, only 15,208 optometrists are participating.

Additionally, optometrists have received $260 million in incentive payments compared to the more than $5.8 billion paid out to Doctors of Medicine participating in Meaningful Use. Why aren’t eye care professionals taking advantage of the benefits of reaching attestation?

MU rules can be confusing, especially to eye care practices, who don’t issue many prescriptions and won’t benefit from measures that require e-prescribing. Further, many of the required measures are clinically irrelevant.

For instance, an ophthalmologist or optometrist looking to attest might review measure #8, which asks providers to account for their patient’s height/weight/BMI and blood pressure, and not know how to proceed because they typically don’t need this information to make clinical decisions.

While the process might seem daunting, there are ways that ophthalmologists can achieve Meaningful Use. Management Plus is a specialized EHR for ophthalmologists and optometrists and leverages DrFirst’s AttestEasySM, a concierge attestation service that guides practices through the necessary steps to achieve Meaningful Use.

Eye-care professionals, like all providers, need to ensure that they are able to adhere to CMS’ Meaningful Use guidelines without hindering their day-to-day operations. DrFirst’s AttestEasy consultants take practices step-by-step through registration, give staff instructions on reporting measures and help monitor reporting behavior to ensure that CMS requirements aren’t overlooked so the practice can successfully attest and receive the incentives they deserve.

Learn more about how you can use AttestEasy through Management Plus’ EHR for ophthalmologists and optometrists.