Register for AOA MORE by Feb. 29 to Get Full 2016 Meaningful Use Credit

Member doctors are encouraged to enroll no later than February 29, 2016, in AOA MORE (Measures and Outcomes Registry for Eyecare) to seamlessly record their “active engagement” with a registry in meeting one of the two public health objectives required for meaningful use in 2016. Free to COA-AOA members (non-members pay $1,800 a year), AOA MORE is a registry that pairs with your EHR system to provide support for the meaningful use public health objective for specialized reporting (note: even if your EHR software does yet work with AOA MORE, it is a good idea to register so that you will get credit for participating in a registry in 2016).

For program year 2016, doctors of optometry are required to meet two of the following three public health objectives, unless an exclusion applies:

• Measure Option 1 – Immunization Registry Reporting
• Measure Option 2 – Syndromic Surveillance Reporting
• Measure Option 3 – Specialized Registry Reporting

To meet the requirements of each measure, participants must be in “active engagement” with a registry or public health agency. To actively engage with MORE for the 2016 program year, you must register by February 29, 2016. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services defines active engagement as:

Completed Registration to Submit Data: The Eligible Professional (EP), eligible hospital or Critical Access Hospital (CAH) registered to submit data with the public health agency or registry; registration was completed within 60 days after the start of the EHR reporting period; and the EP, eligible hospital, or CAH is awaiting an invitation from the Public Health Agency (PHA) or Clinical Data Registry (CDR) to begin testing and validation. This option allows providers to meet the measure when the PHA or the CDR 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.

Two advantages for doctors to use AOA MORE relative to required reporting are:

1. Use of the registry to report required PQRS information to the CMS instead of by claims is easier and more accurate.

2. Doctors are required to report meaningful use in 2016 or will suffer reimbursement penalties in 2018.

In addition, use of AOA MORE by 2019 can help meet new CMS performance expectations, including bonuses of 9% by 2022. To learn more, about the 2016 meaningful use requirement and how AOA MORE can help, click here.