Medicare and Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program Basics

Beginning in 2011, the Promoting Interoperability (formerly the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs) were developed to encourage eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) to adopt, implement, upgrade (AIU), and demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT).

In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Final Rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted changes and new requirements for the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program for participating eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs). Please visit the 2022 Promoting Interoperability Program Requirements page for more information on changes.

2022 Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program Requirements

• A minimum EHR reporting period of any consecutive 90 days for new and returning participants.
• Must report on the four objectives and their associated measures:
  • Electronic Prescribing
  • Health Information Exchange
  • Provider to Patient Exchange
  • Public Health and Clinical Data Exchange 
• Eligible hospitals and CAHs may use (1) existing 2015 Edition certification criteria, (2) the 2015 Edition Cure Update criteria, or (3) a combination of the two in order to meet the CEHRT definition as finalized in the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule final rule (85 FR 84818 through 84828).
• Report on three electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) and the Safe Use of Opioids – Concurrent Prescribing eCQM using three self-selected quarters of data.
• Attest to the following:
  • Security Risk Analysis measure
  • Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience (SAFER) Guides measure
  • Actions to limit or restrict the compatibility or interoperability of CEHRT attestation
  • Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) direct review attestation

Additional Resources

• Scoring, Payment Adjustment, and Hardship Information webpage
• Certified EHR Technology webpage
• eCQI Resource Center