What Happens After Stage 1?

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The healthcare industry has seen a dramatic increase in activity within the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software industry as a result of The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which was established in February of 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Through the HITECH Act, physicians can potentially receive up to $44,000 or $64,000 by demonstrating stage 1 of meaningful use of ONC (Office of National Coordinator for Healthcare IT) certified Electronic Medical Records. A small number of physicians have begun attesting their compliance with the meaningful use guidelines of Stage 1, many are wondering what Stage 2 will entail.
As of now, the national health IT coordinator has already delayed Stage 2 of the meaningful use to 2014. Since many physicians have been hesitant to adopt Electronic Medical Records software, (especially small practices and single physicians) having the original deadline for Stage 2 would only hinder advances in healthcare. A majority of physicians would therefore only see an incentive to attest to Stage 2 of meaningful use if they ...
... were to miss the Stage 1 meaningful use deadline. Additionally, by allowing physicians and vendors to have additional time, the requirements for Stage 2 can be developed more thoroughly than if Stage 2 were to begin in 2013 as originally planned.
The Stimulus Incentive payment schedule also implies that eligible physicians, who purchase ONC certified Electronic Medical Records, and meet meaningful use guidelines earlier, will be able to receive the largest amount of money from the program. Even with this information, a majority of physicians that are Electronic Medical Records Software aware of the program still have not
Electronic Medical Records made any movement towards adopting EMR software for their practice. After 2015, the incentive payments will cease and create a negative impact on providers. For every year that eligible physicians do not demonstrate meaningful use of ONC certified software, their Medicare and/or Medicaid reimbursements will be reduced by 1% and cap off at 5%. With these factors in place, it’s hard believing the slow adoption rate.

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