Physicians Still Using Paper Charts in 2015 Will Get Docked (1242 hits)
Failure to demonstrate meaningful use of an EHR system starting in 2015 will have financial consequences: a 1% reduction in Medicare reimbursement. This cut deepens to 2% in 2016, and 3% in 2017 and beyond.
April 15, 2011 — Physicians hoping to qualify for an $18,000 incentive payment from Medicare this year for using an electronic health record (EHR) system in a "meaningful" way can begin to tell the government that they have met the requirements starting Monday, April 18. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will cut the first Medicare incentive checks this May.
The money is courtesy of the economic stimulus legislation of 2009 called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It authorizes up to $44,000 under Medicare over 5 years, and almost $64,000 under Medicaid over 6 years, to physicians who demonstrate "meaningful use" of an EHR system. "Meaningful use" is CMS shorthand for improving and streamlining patient care with digital technology. Physicians can choose to receive incentive payments under Medicare or Medicaid, but not both.
The report that physicians can file as of Monday is called an "attestation." Submitted online at the CMS Web site, the attestation documents that physicians have satisfied a long list of meaningful use requirements, such as electronically transmitting prescriptions to pharmacies and giving patients electronic access to their records, during a 90-day period. Physicians who have not previously registered to participate in either the Medicare or Medicaid incentive programs can do so at the same Web site.
