EHR Adoption Is Goal For Healthcare Portion of Stimulus Package

The economic stimulus package has dominated nightly newscasts, newspaper headlines and blogs on the web for weeks. The stimulus package includes funding in the billions for EHR adoption and it has surfaced as one of the hot issues and discussion point. Now that stimulus package has passed, EHR adoption has become a national discussion point brought into light in all American households.

Tucked inside the $819 billion economic stimulus package is the HITECH
Act, which includes EHR incentives to spur the adoption of EHR by providers. President Obama has made it clear that he wants all U.S. residents to have electronic health records within five years, and his stimulus package includes $20 billion for healthcare IT and policy changes that are expected to result in $30 billion in net bonuses for providers who adopt and use certified healthcare IT products over the next 10 years. Here’s a breakdown of the health care package:

Starting in October 2010, hospitals, doctors and others would be able to get increased payments from Medicare and Medicaid for using EHRs. Doctors would be eligible for $40,000 to $65,000 for “showing that they are meaningfully using health information technology.” The term “meaningful” is key because they will require measurement tools to ensure connectivity and interoperability. The goal is a connected healthcare system not just EHR utilization.

At this point, the HITECH Act (and the larger Stimulus Bill) is focused on Pay-For-Quality incentives that reward efficient use of an electronic health record; additional points of debate include what funding should be allocated to EHR adoption, standards and certification for related products, and patient privacy.

EHR is now on the national stage, and adoption by providers is inevitable with or without the stimulus package. The benefits of EHR are not being debated, just the best way to ensure broad adoption quickly. The government and Obama believe the financial gains and patient safety issues are too great to pass-up and long over-due, so EHR is here to stay.

· $39 billion in subsidies to health insurance for the unemployed; providing Medicaid coverage
· $90 billion to shore up state Medicaid programs
· $20 billion for health-information technology systems
·$4 billion for preventative care

MMS is prepared to help client’s take advantage of the benefits and funding EHR offers by providing EHR products, training and implementation services. We have partnered with Allscripts-Misys, the industry leading provider of EHR, and have already successfully transitioned many clients. If you have any question please feel free to give us a call to discuss how you can benefit from EHR and the new legislation.

Rick Frankfort, Vice President
Medical Management Systems of Michigan, Inc.
517.485.0001 Ext. 123
Rick@mmsm.com

Profitable Solutions for Healthcare Providers
1701 Lake Lansing Road, Suite 100, Lansing, MI  48912
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