"The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States is inevitable", asserted Dr. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology at the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), in a recent New England Journal of Medicine article.
HHS released on Tuesday the final rules for expanding the use of electronic health records by hospitals and physicians. Eligible physicians and hospital facilities can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments if they adopt certified EHR technology and subsequently use it to achieve specified patient health outcomes. Two regulations, in fact, were released by HHS. The first defines the "meaningful use" goals that providers must meet in order to qualify for the bonus payments. The second rule describes the technical capabilities required for certified EHR technology. This marks the finalization of a highly scrutinized proposed rule that was released on January 13, 2010.
The program, created by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, is expected to award up to $27 billion in bonus payments over ten years. Providers may receive up to $44,000 under Medicare and $63,750 under Medicaid. Hospital facilities, on the other hand, may be eligible to receive millions of dollars for implementation and meaningful use of EHRs under both aforementioned public health care programs.
Click here for the HHS press release, which links to a fact sheet on and the text of the final rules.
No comments:
Post a Comment