Meaningful Use (prior to 7/10/19)

Technical Capacity for Interoperability with the WyIR

The Wyoming Immunization Registry (WyIR) accepts data using HL7 messaging and supports the meaningful use of Certified Electronic Health Record Technology by Eligible Professionals (EPs), Eligible Hospitals (EH), and Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) participating in the Centers for Medicare and  Medicaid Services’ Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs (EHR Incentive Programs). Currently the WyIR supports the 2.5.1 release 1.4 and 1.5 versions of the HL7 Implementation Guide for Immunization Messaging. The WyIR offers SOAP/HTTPS as methods of transport for any direct connection for real time transmission. Other methods of transport are offered through the Total Health Record (THR) Gateway (a Medicaid-specific Health Information Exchange) which allows for MLLP Listener, HTTP Web Service, and Web Service over Two-way SSL. Any connection through the THR Gateway requires obtaining an X.59 Security Certificate. It is recommended that EHRs have the capacity for a fully bi-directional exchange (i.e. support query/response)

Submitting Electronic Immunization Information

Entities qualified to exchange data with WyIR but not participating in the EHR Incentive Programs may also use these data exchange standards, but will not receive incentive payments available through the EHR Incentive Programs.

As a participant in the submission of electronic data to WyIR, health care organizations and pharmacies are assisting in improving the efficiency and quality of care to Wyoming residents while reducing costs.

Data submission must be in accordance with all applicable laws and practices.

Submitting Electronic Immunization Information to Meet Meaningful Use Requirements

Beginning December 15, 2015, to meet EHR Incentive Program requirements and attest positively to a measure requiring reporting of data to public health, EHR Incentive Program participants must be “actively engaged” with the public health agency (PHA) or registry receiving the data. Program participants must register separately with each registry.

There are three ways EHR Incentive Program participants can be “actively engaged with WyIR:”

1. Register their intent to submit data to the registry within 60 days after the start of the reporting period. Once registered, a participant may be placed in a queue for testing/validation. Participants waiting in this queue are considered “actively engaged.”
2. Be in the process of testing and validation of the electronic submission of data. When testing is passed, the participant will be moved into production. Participants must respond to requests from the WyIR within 30 days; failure to respond twice within an EHR reporting period would result in that participant not meeting the measure.
3. Submitting data regularly into the specified production environment. Participants should not submit data to the production environment until they have successfully completed testing and validation with the WyIR.

The Wyoming Department of Health Immunization Unit currently supports submission for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 Meaningful Use for immunizations under the rule modifications that became effective December 15, 2015.

A new rule for meaningful use, available on the Federal Register website, is effective as of December 15, 2015. The rule has new requirements for participants in Stage 1 or Stage 2 and establishes requirements for Stage 3.

The WyIR is not authorized to grant exemptions to EHR Incentive Program participants from submitting data to meet program requirements. A program participant may claim an exclusion at the time of attestation to meaningful use. Maintaining appropriate documentation, if any, is the responsibility of the program participant.

2018 Program Requirements

Information about program requirements for participating in the EHR Incentive Payment Program for 2018 may be found here.

2017 Program Requirements

Information about program requirements for participating in the EHR Incentive Payment Program for 2017 may be found here.

Medicare Eligible Clinicians (ECs) will attest to the Advancing Care Information (ACI) performance category under MIPS. To access the Quality Payment Program and requirements for Medicare clinicians, please visit CMS’ website.

Meaningful Use Measure

The measure for participants in Stage 2 and Modified Stage 2 under Objective 10, Public Health Reporting, effective December 15, 2015, for reporting immunizations is:

Measure

The EP, EH, or CAH is in active engagement with a public health agency to submit immunization data using a  certified EHR.

‘‘Active engagement’’ means the Provider is in the process of working towards sending “production data” to a public health agency or clinical data registry, or is sending production data to a public health agency or clinical data registry.

Active Engagement Option 1—Completed Registration to Submit Data: The EP, EH, or CAH registered to submit data with the public health agency or, where applicable, the clinical data registry to which the information is being submitted; registration was completed within 60 days after the start of the EHR reporting period; and the EP, EH, or CAH is awaiting an invitation from the public health agency or clinical data registry to begin testing and validation. This option allows health care providers to meet the measure when the public health agency or the clinical data registry has limited resources to initiate the testing and validation process. Providers that have registered in previous years do not need to submit an additional registration to meet this requirement for each EHR reporting period.

Active Engagement Option 2—Testing and Validation: The EP, EH, or CAH is in the process of testing and validation of the electronic submission of data. Providers must respond to requests from the public health agency or, where applicable, the clinical data registry within 30 days; failure to respond twice within an EHR reporting period would result in that Provider not meeting the measure.

Active Engagement Option 3— Production: The EP, EH, or CAH has completed testing and validation of the electronic submission and is electronically submitting production data to the public health agency or clinical data registry

Exclusion

Any EP, EH, or CAH meeting one or more of the following criteria may be excluded from the immunization registry reporting measure if the EP, EH, or CAH:

• Does not administer any immunizations to any of the populations for which data is collected by its jurisdiction’s immunization registry or immunization information system during the EHR reporting period;
• Operates in a jurisdiction for which no immunization registry or immunization information system is capable of accepting the specific standards required to meet the CEHRT definition at the start of the EHR reporting period; or
• Operates in a jurisdiction where no immunization registry or immunization information system has declared readiness to receive immunization data from the EP, EH, or CAH at the start of the EHR reporting period.