What if we do not take vital signs on most visits?

According to the CMS Stage 1 Specification Sheets, an EP may be excluded from recording and charting changes in vital signs if "…[the EP] either sees no patients 2 years or older, or who believes that all three vital signs of height, weight, and blood pressure of their patients have no relevance to their scope of practice."

For 2014 and beyond, additional exclusions will be added to the Stage 1 measure. According to the specification sheet, the 2014 exclusions may include "any EP who: a.) sees no patients 3 years or older is excluded from recording blood pressure b.) believes that all three vital signs of height, weight, and blood pressure have no relevance to their scope of practice is excluded from recording them c.) believes that height and weight are relevant to their scope of practice, but blood pressure is not, is excluded from recording blood pressure d.) believes that blood pressure is relevant to their scope of practice, but height and weight are not, is excluded from recording height and weight."

For additional information, please refer to the CMS website.