CMS issues final rule to specify stage 3 Meaningful Use requirements

The CMS has issued a final rule that clarifies stage 3 requirements of the Meaningful Use incentive program for electronic health record implementation. The ruling was issued in the wake of calls from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and other medical societies to create a hardship exception for providers affected by delayed rulemaking for Meaningful Use stages 1 and 2 and to delay finalization of the proposed stage 3 rule.