This section was created for two reasons: to familiarize you with the stipulations of the current stimulus package that are relevant to using an EMR in your practice; and, to prepare you against marketing spin, rumor, misinformation etc. The stimulus package has now been passed into federal law, the related healthcare IT portions will be written into a “CFR,” or Code of Federal Regulations. Much of the impact and requirements of the stimulus bonus for providers remains vague and to be defined by specific parties by early 2010. For your protection, we’ve outlined some relevant facts here. For your reference, the entire American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is available at www.recovery.com
No vendor can yet claim to be “certified” to enable you to earn stimulus money. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently working to provide certification requirements. Former voluntary standards bodies, like CCHIT, remain voluntary. Any person/vendor/consulting organization claiming to know otherwise is speculating. When anyone quotes specifics, ask them for language from the actual ARRA bill itself (from Congress) or CFR (code of federal regulations) language. If something is not in the bill or in a CFR created by the Executive Branch it won’t be defensible and will likely not be true. Vendor selection is an important decision for your practice and your selected vendor owes you fairness. We utilize the industry’s first “Customer Bill of Rights,” to protect you and it is written into every one of our contracts.
It is not mandatory. You may elect to participate or not. Nothing in the law requires you to purchase or use an EMR. You are still in control of the destiny of your practice and we encourage no one to make decisions out of fear. Medicare reimbursements may decline beginning in the year 2016 by 1% per year if a practice is not participating by then. While the law does indicate there will be penalties, Congress has never allowed Medicare penalties to take effect in the past (the backlash has been significant whenever it was tried).
Pages 112 through 165 of the Public Health Service Act outline the adoption of Healthcare Information Technology and are known as the “HITECH” act. The Act outlines payments to physicians making “meaningful” use of a “certified” Electronic Health Record (EHR). It is left to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine what constitutes “meaningful use” and it has been left to the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to determine what “certified” means. At HHS, the Obama Administration has given the Office of the National Coordinator for Healthcare IT (ONCHIT), led by Dr. David Blumenthal, the responsibilities for defining what “meaningful use” means and NIST the responsibility for defining what a “certified” will be. Those definitions are due in early 2010.
MGMA Supports ICD-10 Testing With Outside Organizations
July 30, 2013
Report: Many EHR Users Set To Replace Systems Within the Next Year
July 30, 2013
Providers, Vendors Urge Congress To Delay Meaningful Use Stage 2
July 30, 2013
Many Doctors May Find Meeting ‘Meaningful Use’ Requirements a Challenge
June 28, 2013
When it Comes to ICD-10 Physician Documentation: Collaborate and Educate
June 28, 2013
