OIG Audits Begin For Meaningful Use Compliance

The Office of Audit Services of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has begun a nationwide audit of a random sample of providers that have received incentive payments for achieving "meaningful use" under the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2014. Medicare pays EHR incentive payments for up to five years to physicians and hospitals that achieve meaningful use of certified EHR technology each year.  Providers that fail to achieve meaningful use face payment reductions beginning in 2015.

The OIG announced its intention to conduct these audits in its Work Plan for FY 2015. The OIG stated that it will review certain, but not all, meaningful use measures to determine whether providers received incentive payments in error.  Among the measures covered by the OIG audits is the core meaningful use measure that requires providers to conduct a comprehensive security