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OVERVIEW |
The HITECH Act is the Health Information Technology (HIT) section, under the recently approved American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Under HITECH, the government has allocated $19.2 billion in incentives to adopt EHR technology. The recovery bill allocated $19 billion in grants and incentives for companies and practices to buy health information technology in an effort to improve efficiency and quality in the health system. The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) as they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology. |
| ELIGIBILITY |
Providers that implement and have a meaningful use of a certified EHR prior to 2015 are eligible for incentives. Visit the CMS site for more detailed information: https://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/CMS_eHR_Tip_Sheet.pdf |
| Definition of "meaningful" use |
The HITECH Act defines Meaningful use as those that meet each of the following criteria: ♦ Use of a certified product with e-prescribing |
| EHRs are Eligible for Reimbursement |
CCHIT certification currently sets the standard for Ambulatory EHR products and is the accepted industry standard. (CCHIT®) Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology is a private, nonprofit organization that has been recognized by the federal government as an official certification body for health information technology. The certification requirements are based on widely accepted industry standards and involve the work of hundreds of expert volunteers and input from a variety of stakeholders throughout the health care industry. |
| Medicare Incentive Payments |
Healthcare professionals who meet the “meaningful use” of a “certified” EHR may be eligible for the following incentives per physician: ♦ Year 1: $15,000 ($18,000, if 1st year 2011 or 2012) |
| Registration is Now Open |
| Participate early to get the maximum incentive payments! For the purposes of participating in this Program, eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) must use certified EHR technology. Our flagship product MD-Reports v9i(mu) has achieved the ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification from InfoGard Laboratories EHR certifying body. We are also proud to announce that we are one of the few vendors who are certified for Meaningful Use at both the Office and the Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC). |
| Use MD-REPORTS and Start Collecting Stimulus Money |
Eligible professionals (EP) can visit http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/ and register online to qualify. Certified EHR technology gives assurance to purchasers and other users that an EHR system or module offers the necessary technological capability, functionality, inter-operability and security to help them meet the meaningful use criteria. MD-Reports v9i(mu) is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by an ONC‐ATCB organization in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Cert #: IG-2529-11-0070). This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments. EPs would need to comply with the criteria laid out by CMS during the 90 day reporting period.
For more information or questions regarding the Medicare Incentive Program and to find out how MD-Reports can help maximize revenue to be collected, please call 718-982-1315. |
| E-Prescribing (E-Rx) Incentives |
To become successful electronic prescribers for purposes of earning up to 1% of eligible Medicare Part B charges in 2012 and avoiding the 2012 eRx payment adjustment, EPs must report the eRx measure for a required minimum number of unique eRx events via claims between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2011. MD-Reports has partnered with NewCrop Rx, one of the leading prescriber software vendors. It is SureScripts certified and combined with our GI specific EMR, you can seamlessly transmit prescriptions electronically. |
| The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) |
MIPPA provides positive incentives for practitioners who use electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) in 2009 through 2013. It requires the use of e-prescribing in 2011 and beyond by reducing payments to providers who fail to e-prescribe. It provides a 2% bonus in 2009 and 2010 for e-prescribing, 1% in 2011 and 2012, 0.5% in 2013. Penalties of minus 1% in 2012, minus 1.5% in 2013, 2% in 2014 and beyond for physicians who do not e-prescribe. Click on 2010 Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program to learn more about this. For successful reporting under the 2010 eRx Incentive Program, a single quality-data code (eRx G-code) should be reported. |
| Penalties for Failure to Adopt EHR’s |
Penalties for failing to "meaningfully use" HIT will begin in 2015. Penalties for non-adoption after 2015; Increasing 1% every year up to 5% of professional fees. |
| Payments |
The payment may be in the form of a single consolidated payment or in the form of periodic installments. |
| Current MD-Reports Users Can Qualify |
Upgrade and implement MD-Reports v9i(mu) as per CCHIT certification requirements. Your MD-Reports team is fully dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition and seamless upgrade. Please call us at 718.982.1315 and ask to speak to one of our Sales Representatives. |
| Disclaimer: MD-REPORTS does not claim or guarantee the reimbursements of Medicare/Medicaid Incentive payments to physicians/eligible professionals. MD-Reports is a certified and qualified Meaningful Use EHR system and thus gives the physicians eligibility for the reimbursements of incentive payments from Medicare/Medicaid. However, MD-Reports is not responsible in any way for automatically making the EPs eligible for collecting the incentive payments. It is the EPs responsibility for adopting the system and entering the data into EMR system, as per CMS requirements and criteria in order to be eligible for Meaningful Use criteria. |
October 3rd 2011 is the last day for eligible professionals to begin their 90-day reporting period for calendar year 2011 for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.