2013-01142. Medicare Program; Request for Information on Hospital and Vendor Readiness for Electronic Health Records Hospital Inpatient Quality Data Reporting; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.

ACTION:

Request for information; extension of the comment period.

SUMMARY:

This notice extends the comment period for a request for information (RFI) which was published in the January 3, 2013 Federal Register (78 FR 308). The RFI requests that hospitals, electronic health record (EHR) vendors, and other interested parties respond to questions regarding their readiness to conduct electronic reporting of certain patient-level data under the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program using the Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category I. The comment period for the RFI, which would have ended on January 22, 2013, is extended to February 1, 2013.

DATES:

The comment period for the request for information published in the January 3, 2013 Federal Register (78 FR 308) is extended to February 1, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

In commenting, please refer to file code CMS-3278-NC. Because of staff and resource limitations, we cannot accept comments by facsimile (FAX) transmission.

You may submit comments in one of four ways (please choose only one of the ways listed):

1. Electronically. You may submit electronic comments on this regulation to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions under the “More Search Options” tab.

2. By regular mail. You may mail written comments to the following address ONLY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS-3278-NC, P.O. Box 8013, Baltimore, MD 21244-8013.

Please allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received before the close of the comment period.

3. By express or overnight mail. You may send written comments to the following address ONLY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS-3278-NC, Mail Stop C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.

4. By hand or courier. If you prefer, you may deliver (by hand or courier) your written comments before the close of the comment period to either of the following addresses:

a. For delivery in Washington, DC—Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Room 445-G, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201.

(Because access to the interior of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building is not readily available to persons without Federal government identification, commenters are encouraged to leave their comments in the CMS drop slots located in the main lobby of the building. A stamp-in clock is available for persons wishing to retain a proof of filing by stamping in and retaining an extra copy of the comments being filed.)

b. For delivery in Baltimore, MD—Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.

If you intend to deliver your comments to the Baltimore address, please call telephone number [phone] in advance to schedule your arrival with one of our staff members.

Comments mailed to the addresses indicated as appropriate for hand or courier delivery may be delayed and received after the comment period.

Submission of comments on paperwork requirements. You may submit comments on this document's paperwork requirements by following the instructions at the end of the “Collection of Information Requirements” section in this document.

For information on viewing public comments, see the beginning of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maria Harr, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In the January 3, 2013 Federal Register (78 FR 308), we published a document requesting information from hospitals, electronic health record (EHR) vendors, and other interested parties regarding hospital readiness to begin electronically reporting certain patient-level data under the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program using the Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category I beginning with calendar year 2014 discharges.

Because of the scope of the requested information and inquiries received from several industry and professional organizations/associations regarding the need for additional time to respond to our request, we are extending the comment period until February 1, 2013.

Dated: January 15, 2013.

Marilyn Tavenner,

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.