Eligible Hospitals and CAHs: Remember to Use QualityNet to Attest for 2017 EHR Participation

CMS EHR Incentive ProgramCMS is streamlining the attestation process for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program by migrating attestation from the Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Registration and Attestation System to the QualityNet Secure Portal (QNet).

Starting January 2, 2018, Medicare eligible hospitals and CAHs must attest to CMS for the EHR Incentive Program through QNet. The change applies to calendar year (CY) 2017 attestations, as well as future reporting periods. QNet is the same system Medicare eligible hospitals and CAHs currently use for clinical quality measure (CQM) reporting.

  • Medicaid eligible hospitals should contact their state Medicaid agencies for specific information on how to attest.
  • Dually eligible hospitals and CAHs will register and attest for Medicare on the QNet portal and update and submit registration information in the Registration and Attestation System.

Attestations from prior years will be view only on the Registration and Attestation System for Medicare eligible hospitals and CAHs after December 31, 2017.

Create or Update Your QNet Account
New user enrollment is now open on the QNet portal. You can take one of two actions:

  • If you don’t have an account on QNet already from previous CQM submissions, you’ll need to create a new one before you attest.
  • If you—or the person/department at your hospital who usually submits EHR Incentive Program data—already has an account, you’ll need to update that existing account by adding the “meaningful use” role before attestation. If your organization’s account has several users associated with the account, you may not have permission to make the change. The account’s designated “Security Administrators” can make the “meaningful use” role update.

The QNet Enrollment and Login User Guide offers step-by-step guidance for the enrollment process.

For More Info
Visit the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website and follow us on Twitter (@CMSGov) for up-to-date information on the transition.

You can also submit questions to the EHR Information Center, available at 1-888-734-6433 (press option 1) from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

CMS will distribute more information on this transition as it becomes available. In the meantime, don’t forget to review the 2017 Modified Stage 2 and Stage 3 EHR Incentive Program requirements to ensure you are ready to attest in 2018.