Health IT, Policy

Minnesota excludes solo docs, cash practices from EHR mandate

In a new rule, Minnesota has excluded solo practitioners from the EHR mandate

Minnesota will exempt solo practitioners and cash-only medical practices from a rule requiring all healthcare providers in the state to adopt interoperable electronic health records. It may be little more than a symbolic gesture, however, because there currently is no penalty for noncompliance.

As the state’s legislative session wound down last week, an omnibus bill setting policy for the Minnesota Department of Human Services passed the House unanimously and cleared the Senate on a 61-1 vote. Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bill Friday.

Legislation passed in 2007 called for all healthcare providers in Minnesota to have interoperable EHRs in place by Jan. 1, 2015. The state later determined that providers must use technology certified to federal EHR standards, as set by the Office the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.