Medical Assistance Promoting Interoperability Program

The Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Payment Program was created by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This program provides funding to states to develop and administer provider incentive programs. In 2018, CMS changed the name of the EHR Incentive Program to the Promoting Interoperability Program.

Environmental Scan

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) conducted a statewide survey in October and November of 2020 to determine the extent of Health Information Technology and Health Information Exchange (HIT/E) adoption and usage among Pennsylvania's healthcare providers. More than 150,000 healthcare professionals representing a wide variety of solo and group practices were invited to participate.

• For a breif synopsis, please review the 2020 PA HIT Environmental Scan Summary of Findings.
  
• For the complete 2020 HIT Environmental Scan, please review the PA 2020 HIT Environmental Scan Report.
  

If you have any questions, please email RA-mahealthit@pa.gov.

Helpful Audit Information

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires states to ensure that payments are being made to the right person, at the right time, for the right reason. To receive an incentive payment, eligible professionals attest that they are using Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT), meeting Meaningful Use (MU) requirements, and providing all supporting documentation upon request. We encourage you to read and review the various resources listed below to help guide you with valuable information regarding the audit process.

If you are chosen for an audit, you will be notified, and additional details will be provided to you. As indicated at the time you received your incentive payment, we require you to keep all supporting documentation for 6 years. To ensure a smooth audit process, we recommend having dedicated staff members who have the knowledge and access to all supporting documents. This would include all login credentials as well as the knowledge of where in the system to access this information. The Audit Team has developed a Best Practices for Retaining Audit Documents guide to help in the case you are chosen for a post-payment audit.

The Program has resources to help providers understand the supporting documentation requirements:

• Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) Documentation
• Signed Vendor Letter
• Patient Volume (PV) Report

PV reports must be in Excel format and sent to the Program using one of the following secure methods:

• DIRECT Messaging Account (if you have a DIRECT account): PADPW-OMAP-MAHEALTHIT@directaddress.net.
• Password Protect: You may password protect your Excel document to ensure its security. If you choose this method, please send us a separate email to RA-MAPIRaudit@pa.gov providing us with the password to open your Excel document. If you are unsure how to password protect an Excel file, you can find instructions here: https://support.office.com Search Protect Excel File
• Email: RA-MAPIRaudit@pa.gov by using secure/encrypted email. Due to your document containing PHI, it must be sent securely. If you are unable to send a secure/encrypted email from your location, please email us and we will be happy to send you a secure email that you may reply to by attaching your Excel document in a secure format
  

Contact Information

For questions and/or to provide feedback about the Promoting Interoperability Program, please utilize one of the following options:

• Email: RA-mahealthit@pa.gov
• ListServ: Join our ListServ to receive important updates about the incentive program.

CMS EHR Information Center: An information center is now available to answer Electronic Health Records Incentive questions. The center is open from 7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Central Time) Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays, at 1-888-734-6433 (primary number) or 888-734-6563 (TTY number).