Your EHR vendors may have to make sudden changes -- or even lose their certification -- if the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC) finalizes its new proposed rule, which gives ONC a more active "direct review" of electronic health record (EHR) products and relationships, more control over lab testing of products for certification and power to post quarterly "surveillance results" for the public.

We're deep into the pages of the proposed 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and still haven't seen light at the end of the tunnel, but one thing is clear already: weighing in at 621 pages, this is one slim tome compared to the 2011 proposed fee schedule. The 2011 edition was 1,250 pages, which means this year's version is less than half the length, or 49.6% if you want to be precise. TIP: Read our initial fee schedule findings here, if you haven't already. The biggest reason for the big difference in size has to be the health reform law, which required CMS to start turning legislation into actual rulemaking.

CMS is putting the finishing touches on its proposed 2012 Physician Fee Schedule and expects to release it "very shortly," in the words of Stewart Streimer, director of the agency's Provider Billing Group. This vague hint was one of the first announcements Streimer made during today's physician open door call.

Your providers' performance, based on Medicare claims data for Parts A, B and D of program, will be shared with the public under a new proposed rule from CMS. Certain "qualified entities" would process the Medicare data, along with private payer data, to create public reports. This new initiative, which was made possible by the health reform law, would be similar in principle to the Hospital Compare website, CMS says in a June press release.

You and your peers may be able avoid the 1% e-Prescribing (e-Rx) Medicare payment penalty if you qualify for one of CMS’s new proposed hardship exemptions outlined in its May 26 proposed rule. If finalized, the wil give providers a more flexible timeline and more options to claim a hardship exemption for not being able to meet the e-Rx requirement by June 30.