Healthcare IT Update

HHS Starts the Process of Establishing EHR Certification Program

Healthcare providers that are eager to get in on CMS’s electronic health record (EHR) incentive program are one step closer to finding out which systems are government-approved. Many providers have been holding off on buying an EHR system since the government hasn’t certified any to be acceptable for the EHR program yet. Only certified EHRs will qualify for the potential $44,000-per-EP incentive (which will be paid over a five-year period to those who participate for the full five years). However, a March 2 message from David Blumenthal, MD, the national coordinator for health information technology, lays out the proposed rule for establishing such certification programs. You can read about the proposal and submit comments via this Web site.

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Non-Physician Providers Aren’t Considered ‘EPs’ in Medicare EHR Incentive Program

Don’t miss out on this EP list, plus the latest HIT lingo from CMS CMS reps want to make sure healthcare providers optimize your chances of collecting from the electronic health record (EHR) incentive program, which could net an eligible professional (EP) $44,000 over a five-year period. The agency’s proposal regarding the incentive program spells out who can participate, and what type of  EHR you’ll have to use, according to a Feb. 21 CMS-sponsored Physicians, Nurses, and Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum. You should know …

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2010 Final Rule Simplifies E-Prescribing Process

New financial incentives for EHR. But think long & hard before you join the EHR conga line, analysts warn practices. CMS’s 2010 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule spells out the income opportunities that practices can seize if they want to collect the maximum allowable reimbursement from Medicare next year, and for the first time, electronic health records can be part of a practices PQRI measures. In particular, the Final Rule indicates that in 2010, physician practices will be able to earn a PQRI incentive payment of 2 percent of their estimated total Part B allowed charges — and CMS will offer additional reporting options to help ease that process. CMS will add 30 individual PQRI measures and six measures groups on which individual eligible professionals may report, the Final Rule indicates. The Final Rule will also add an electronic health record (EHR)-based reporting mechanism, which will “promote the adoption and use…

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