New CMS Guidance on Stage 2 Data Exchange Criteria

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a four-page guidance sheet to aid eligible professionals in meeting Stage 2 meaningful use requirements covering a summary of care, clinical summary and patient electronic access to their medical record.


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a four-page guidance sheet to aid eligible professionals in meeting Stage 2 meaningful use requirements covering a summary of care, clinical summary and patient electronic access to their medical record.

The document outlines the required data elements and provides additional guidance, according to CMS. “While some of the data elements are common between these three objectives, other data elements are individual to each objective.”

The guidance walks through the specific information requirements for each measure: 20 for a clinical summary, 12 for patient electronic access and up to 16 for a summary of care. It also provides additional guidance such as making clear that an eligible provider can withhold information that could cause the patient harm.

Further, the guidance also gives reminders of any timelines, such as patients having online access within four business days of the information being available to the provider, and notes instances where information does not have to be made available if it is not in the EHR at the time a summary is provided. The guidance is available here.