Welcome to the S.C. Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program Website

***Announcement***: We ARE NOW ACCEPTING Program Year 2018 (for reporting periods in calendar year 2018) attestations. The final deadline for submission will be March 31, 2019 (Sunday). This deadline applies to the first submission of the attestation. Providers can make corrections after the first submission if needed. We accept attestations 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week until the deadline. However, we are only available to assist during business hours 7:30AM -5PM M-F. If you need assistance please contact us by Friday, March 29th  

Do you have a question or need help? Give us a call at 803-898-2996 or hitsc@scdhhs.gov. Our goal is to help you meet the requirements.

The Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program has been renamed the “Medicaid Promoting Interoperability (PI) Program”. Although the name has changed, the PI Program continues the requirements, attestation and incentive payment process of the “EHR Incentive Program”. Eligible Providers (EPs) participating in Medicare Promoting Interoperability Programs (such as MIPS) may restart or continue their participation with the S.C. Medicaid PI Program and receive incentive money. Providers may participate in and receive money from BOTH programs! Review this link to see program similarities -  Medicaid EHR incentives will end after 2021, but there is still time to take advantage of this opportunity to be rewarded for your EHR usage!

Can users submit attestations on behalf of providers in their organizations/ practices?

  Yes. They must establish an Identity and Access (I&A) Management Account first.  If you are working on behalf of an EP(s) and do not have an I&A web user account, Create a Login here in the I&A System. Once you acquire an I&A account, you will use your CMS Registration ID to login to the SC SLR and attest.

• See Frequently Asked Questions about I&A Access
• See I&A Quick Reference Guide

EP incentives are $8500 per each EP attestation and an EP can be paid for six (6) attestations. A reduced incentive amount is available to pediatricians if they are unable to meet certain requirements. Individual EPs are eligible to receive up to six (6) separate incentive payments from the Medicaid PI Program, regardless of their participation in other programs. Practices/ organizations who are the designated “Payee” for their collective individual EP incentive payments are not limited on the amount they may receive. EPs can skip program years and participate again at any time (skipping program years is allowed).

How do I determine if I, or my providers, are eligible to participate in the Medicaid PI Program and receive incentive payments?

  To be sure, please send your NPI or a list of your organization's provider NPIs to HITSC@scdhhs.gov or call us at  803-898-2996 to perform a nationwide check. It is unlikely that EPs know their eligibility or participation history from previous employers and may mistakenly believe they are not eligible - that is why it is important to contact us.  Click here to read more.

What if an EP has a previous attestation that was not paid or was hospital-based in a previous year?

• Unpaid attestations: Some EPs may have incomplete or unpaid attestations in the SLR. A provider or their representative can proceed directly with their 2018 attestations by selecting "2018" as the Program Year and update their data (there may be old information showing from the previous attempt). If they wish, an EP may choose to try and resolve any remaining issues with unpaid attestations, but this is not required to attest to a new program year. For help or questions contact 803-898-2996 or HITSC@scdhhs.gov.
• Hospital-based status is not based on an EP's practice location or employer but on an assessment of the EP's claims data to determine if 90% or more occurred in a POS 21 or 23. If an EP was determined to be hospital-based by SCDHHS in a prior program year, the determination ONLY applies to that year - not future years. An EP's status often changes year to year. We have had a lot of EPs incorrectly believe they were hospital-based and not submit an attestation - please do not assume you are hospital-based - only SCDHHS can make this determination. More information here:  What is hospital-based?

What are the Meaningful Use (MU) requirements for Program Year (PY) 2018? Did EPs need to perform these actions the entire year?

  EPs and EHs need to meet threshold percentages during an EP selected continuous minimum 90-day period from Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2018. They do not have to perform these actions the entire year, nor perform these actions for every patient. 

For program year (PY) 2018, EPs and EHs have the option to meet Modified Stage 2, or optional Stage 3, MU requirements. If you are eligible for both stage 2 and optional stage 3, please review and determine which stage you meet the requirements for. You do not need to meet the requirements for both stage 2 and stage 3 - select only one to attest to. See Resources Tab for more information and help with meeting meaningful use.

• Eligible Professionals (EPs): PY2018 Modified Stage 2 requirements and Stage 3 requirements*.
• Eligible Hospitals (EHs): PY2018 Modified Stage 2 requirements here and Stage 3* here.

*Important: In order to attest to optional Stage 3, the EP/ EH must have used certified EHR technology (CEHRT) that is certified to the 2015 edition, or to a combination of the 2015 Edition and 2014 Edition as long as the combination would not prohibit the EP from meeting Stage 3 requirements. However, an EP who has technology certified to the 2014 Edition only, may not attest to optional Stage 3 and would need to attest to Modified Stage 2. Check what edition your CEHRT is certified to via this link. Contact us if you need help or do not see your product(s) listed.

I've already attested for, or wish to skip PY2018. What is the MU period for PY2019?

  For program year (PY) 2019, EPs and EHs must attest to Stage 3 (Stage 2 will NOT be available). You should confirm with your EHR vendor and SCDHHS if necessary regarding if your CEHRT is able to meet Stage 3 requirements (see the asterisk comment above regarding CEHRT). The MU period for PY2019 is an EP selected continuous minimum 90-day period, from Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2019. We are currently accepting PY2018 attestations until Mar. 31, 2019; we anticipate accepting PY2019 attestations on Jan. 1, 2020.

Do Meaningful Use requirements have flexibility? Can I perform patient actions outside my selected EHR Reporting Period to help me meet the requirements?

  Yes, some Meaningful Use requirements allow flexibility in order to help EPs and EHs meet them by allowing EPs to perform patient actions outside their chosen EHR Reporting Period. For example, an EP's patients may engage with the patient portal outside the Provider's chosen EHR Reporting Period, but the EP can count those actions in their numerator for the measure to increase their percentage. Important: you may need to ask your vendor if your CEHRT does this automatically or if you need to do a manual calculation. This [helpful guide] explains which requirements allow this flexibility; many providers have had success by using it. 

Certain MU requirements have exclusions and if the exclusion applies to the EP/ EH, they may claim it instead of having to meet the measure. Excluding MU requirements will not reduce the incentive payment amount.

What if EPs see patients at locations without Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT)?

  For information regarding EPs who practice at multiple locations, please refer to this link.

Does South Carolina Accept Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs)?

No. South Carolina does not currently accept electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs). Providers or their authorized representatives must manually enter CQM data as part of the attestation. Practice sites/ locations under the same Tax Identification Number (TIN) may choose to implement different clinical quality measures (CQMs). CQM measures should be combined across locations where possible, and report on CQM measures from the location with the greatest number of patient encounters when other locations chose different CQMs (all locations under a TIN do not have to choose the same CQMs). Documentation on the location(s) that the CQM data pertains to should be maintained and upload it to the provider’s attestation.

How do I submit an attestation to receive an incentive payment?