How To Be An Ehr Meaningful User

By Author: Jamie Hanson
Total Articles: 3495
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Incentive payments for physicians who adopt electronic health records (EHRs) will begin in 2011. To take full advantage, implement your EHR in 2010.

Most physicians know by now that physicians who are "meaningful users" of "certified EHR technology" are eligible to receive up to $44,000 over a five-year period.

While the government has just solidified what meaningful use is, it's imperative that you not wait until the last minute to get started.

Electronic medical records are gaining in popularity. These legal medical records are digitally stored on an organization's computer system. Examples of medical organizations that use electronic medical records include hospitals, outpatient healthcare facilities, and doctors' offices. Electronic medical records allow records to be stored, manipulated, and retrieved at any time.

According to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the longer you wait to purchase and implement an EHR, the greater is the risk that you may not be eligible to receive maximum incentive funds. That's because 70% of the funding comes in the first two years-and ...
... moving to a new system takes time.

While 2011 may seem far off, poor planning and training can lead to unwelcome results-so implement your EHR today.

New Law Expands Number Of Physicians Eligible For Incentive Payments
More physicians may be eligible for Medicare or Medicaid incentive payments if they demonstrate meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs).

The HITECH Act originally excluded hospital-based physicians on the assumption that they benefited from the hospital's EHR, not necessarily their own.

But provider associations told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that physicians working in hospital-owned outpatient facilities should be eligible for incentive payments.

In response, Congress passed a bill, now law that changed the definition of "hospital-based physician" to exclude only physicians who primarily work in an "inpatient or emergency room setting."

Today, physicians, dentists, nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, and some physicians assistants who do not work in an inpatient or emergency room setting are eligible provided that they must have at least a 30% Medicaid patient volume (except pediatricians, who much have at least 20%).

With more physicians available for incentive payments, demand for EHRs will certainly increase. Physicians may want to get started with implementation now, before the rush hits.

EMR Software adoption is expected to increase significantly over the next several years thanks to Federal stimulus money earmarked for the implementation of electronic medical records systems nationwide.