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Is anyone else concerned about being forced to upgrade to v20 in 2020 to continue using Centricity? Our organization recently upgraded to v9.12.3 to support ONC15 and EPCS requirements. We intentionally wait for multiple service packs on each release to give Centricity the time to work out the bugs.
We are now being told that due to a new business relationship (Dr. First) all Centricity users will be forced to take v20 in order to continue managing and prescribing medications in EMR. Currently v19 is still in development and v20 is being developed in parallel which usually leads to a host of problems. Being forced to take an early release version of a major upgrade at the end of the calendar year seems not only unreasonable, but dangerous to patient safety.
How are we supposed to strategically prepare for a major upgrade, enrollment of close to 300 EPCS prescribers, and major workflow changes with Centricity's development timeline? The included changes expected in v20 (medication module, orders module, dynamic chart summary, immunizations, AUC) are major and will impact our practices ability to see patients efficiently. We have raised concerns with Athena, but can't imagine we are the only ones.
How are your organizations preparing for this?
Posted : October 24, 2019 2:33 am
That sounds troubling. Nobody has said anything to us about upgrading to v20 by the end of the year. I sort of assumed that v19 would incorporate Dr First, otherwise why bothering developing it separately at this point? Also, do we really need to re-enroll providers in EPCS? We just did it a second time for the switch to Digicert, a third time would really get a lot of grumbles.
Curious to know where the information is coming from, was this discussed at CHUG?
Posted : October 24, 2019 2:44 am
I would be curious to know where this information is coming from as well. This is the first I have heard about parallel developments. If this is true, then I am in agreement. We are currently on version 12.3.2 and chose to submit a hardship exception for the PI component of MIPS because there was no functional value to move to version 12.3.3. Our decision was also based on the fact that we would be moving to version 19 in 2020 which has a significant number of "enhancements." We are also preparing our providers for EPCS and AUC, so I don't see how we can be expected to accomplish multiple Centricity upgrades during the same year. Like you, we generally wait about 3 months for a major release to settle out before deploying. Major updates are very disruptive for our providers and requires a lot of preparation on our part. I suspect this next version will be even more so because of the architectural change (Azure integration, APIs, etc.).
Posted : October 24, 2019 3:02 am
Topic starter
We first heard through back channels and it was confirmed at CHUG. Our account managers have also confirmed, but state that they are waiting on marketing's "official communication" prior to really discussing. We have been vocal with our concerns.
At CHUG they stated that Dr. First would accept previously completed identity proofing, but nothing in writing. Also, no mention of associate costs, but verbally at CHUG they stated that they didn't anticipate any "additional costs". Athena is saying that this is necessary for NCPDP requirements, but Surescripts has a seat at the table writing those standards ( https://ncpdp.org/Standards-Development/Standards-Information ). I believe this has a lot more to do with Athena/Centricity and Surescripts severing relations than any regulatory/standards issue.
v20 (which incorporates the AUC stuff from v19) has huge redesigns to standard functionality. The impact to practice effectiveness/efficiency will be huge.
Posted : October 24, 2019 3:09 am
We did not make it to CHUG this year, timing was bad. I knew they were already talking about V20, but what gives with requiring everyone to upgrade by the end of this year?
We currently do not use EPCS though I want to slowly move my providers in that direction. Is that what this forced move is all about?
So, "hopefully", if we do not use the EPCS module we will not be forced into V20?
I would appreciate some feedback on this.
Thanks.
Michelle
POA
Posted : October 24, 2019 3:26 am
Topic starter
v20 isn't only required for EPCS, but for basic medication management and all erx. All prescribing and medication management will happen through Dr. FIrst which will be "integrated" into v20. eSm support will end 12/1/20 according to info presented at CHUG.
Posted : October 24, 2019 3:31 am
Looking beyond v20...I believe (as in not 100% sure) the athenahealth model prior to Cetricity joining the party was to upgrade all their customers at once (since it's hosted). It is very likely that once the dust of the product merge settles, this will be the case again - whether you like it or not, you will go home Friday and come to work Monday and you (and all athenahealth customers) will be on the newest version of the EMR. There's pros, there's cons...
Posted : October 24, 2019 3:40 am
Topic starter
That might be ok in a hosted, homogeneous environment like Athena, but Centricity is a different beast. We have 12 years of use and customization for better or worse. These changes have to be seriously validated in each customer's environment.
Completely changing medication management could have enormous impact with custom content, Qvera, etc., plus they are "revamping" immunizations. Whatever that means... and oh yeah, "Northstar Order Module" will also be included, but don't know if it's required. That's been in development for 4 years!
Posted : October 24, 2019 3:52 am
This should not just be a CHUG conference discussion as it impacts all customers not just the ones who went or go to the conferences.
Posted : October 24, 2019 6:19 am
Totally agree, I could not go to this conference either, if it was not for CHUG I would still be unaware this is a possibility. I went back and reviewed the slide deck from the September Virence Health Briefing (or whatever they call it these days). There is one slide about the eRx transition, but it makes no mention of needing to upgrade to a new release by the end of the year, let alone needing to upgrade all the way to v20.
Posted : October 25, 2019 2:44 am
According to the “Unpacking Centricity: Walk through Our Latest Service Packs and Upcoming Plans" session at CHUG:
-CPS 12.3 Service Pack 3 is the last major release until version 19 prior to the end of the year.
-Version 20 will be released in 2020.
-Version 20 is mandatory for everyone who wants to continue to prescribe in Centricity, based upon an upcoming federal mandate coming into effect. The hard requirement deadline is 01/01/2021. It was recommended that a practice adopt version 20 as quickly as possible so that e-prescribing is not disrupted after the deadline has past.
-Providers will need to be re-trained on how to prescribe with the new prescribing module in version 2020.
-Version 20 is expected to be released in early Q2 (LA-Limited Availability or general release, my notes are not clear on that)
-There will be lots of education and communication forthcoming from athenahealth, so stay tuned.
Posted : October 25, 2019 3:00 am
Can anyone point to any evidence that the requirement for enabling the script standard for eRx has been delayed to 2021? My understanding is that eRx must use the SCRIPT standard by January 1, 2020 (See this, pretty recent - https://surescripts.com/news-center/intelligence-in-action/prescription-accuracy/five-things-to-help-you-through-script-v2017071-migration/ ) The requirement for implementing ePA via the SCRIPT standard is January 1, 2021 (More official source - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/19/2019-13028/medicare-program-secure-electronic-prior-authorization-for-medicare-part-d).
Posted : October 25, 2019 3:19 am
Topic starter
Exactly! This is why I have a hard time swallowing Athena/Centricity's assertion that this upgrade is to support regulatory requirements. Surescripts has a hand in developing SCRIPT and is already compliant. This is about severing a long-standing business relationship between the two companies. Surescripts had ZERO presence at CHUG.
Posted : October 28, 2019 2:08 am
exactly... but who makes money on chug..... insane.
Posted : November 12, 2019 5:31 pm
For anyone still watching this thread, any new information out there? I noticed the monthly health briefings have stopped. I haven't found any new information about a delay online, and CMS still lists the effective date as January 1 2020 on their website https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/E-Health/Eprescribing/index .
Is there a chance that there is a version of eSM that supports the new standard?
Posted : November 19, 2019 4:33 am
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