Healthcare IT Update

EHRs Don’t Save Hospitals Money

New Harvard study debunks some myths. Everybody’s talking up the financial benefits of electronic health records these days, and CMS’s new proposed regs on ARRA incentive payments to hospitals and providers who adopt EHR technology assumes that quality of care and EHRs go hand in hand. Federal News Radio calls adoption of EHR the “holy grail” for health care providers. New Harvard study debunks some myths. Everybody’s talking up the financial benefits of electronic health records these days, and CMS’s new proposed regs on ARRA incentive payments to hospitals and providers who adopt EHR technology assumes that quality of care and EHRs go hand in hand. Federal News Radio calls adoption of EHR the “holy grail” for health care providers. We reported on a study released back in November finding that adoption of EHRs doesn’t improve quality of care. Now, in an article…

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What You Need To Do To Get ARRA’s EHR Adoption Incentive Money

Having trouble plodding through the 555-page HITECH reg? Our experts spell out the basic requirements for collecting cash. If you help to run a hospital or a physician’s office that sees Medicare and Medicaid patients, you might think you know red tape. Well, if you plan on seeing any of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 incentive money for adopting electronic health records technology, get ready for a whole new world of red before you see any green. On Dec. 30, 2009, CMS issued a proposed rule that would implement the incentive payment provisions of ARRA. Payments will be offered to Medicare and Medicaid providers and facilities that adopt and “meaningfully use” electronic health record technology, and this proposed rule is the first indication of how CMS plans to define ARRA’s requirements. The most anticipated part of the reg…

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