What do you need to know about the CMS EHR incentive program?
Many physicians and healthcare organizations are facing uncharted territory in the effort to align themselves with the federal goals of improving patient care and coordination, effectively managing public health data and improving efficiencies in the delivery of healthcare. The signing of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) earmarked $31 billion dollars dedicated to healthcare IT initiatives through the HITECH Act. A main focus of the HITECH Act is electronic medical record (EMR) implementation and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is offering incentive reimbursements to eligible providers and hospitals to help drive EMR adoption.
Frequently asked questions about
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EMR Certification
What do you need to know about EMR product certification? -
Program Registration
What do you need to know about registering for a CMS EHR incentive program? -
Program Attestation
EHR Incentive Program and Meaningful Use Attestation FAQs -
Eligible Providers
Incentive Reimbursement Requirements for Medicaid and Medicare -What You Need To Know -
Program Timing
Setting realistic target dates
Learn How To Manage A Successful EMR Implementation
EMR implementation can make or break the successful adoption by providers. This is especially critical when a provider is enrolling in one of the CMS EHR Incentive Programs. If a provider is not able to (or doesn't want to) meaningfully use EMR, the chance of securing incentive reimbursement is greatly reduced. Review the tips below to help you plan for a successful EMR implementation. Also, consider downloading our FREE EMR Implementation White Paper to help you plan a successful launch, adoption and meaningful use of EMR.
Learn How To Select EMR Vendors Wisely
Select an EMR vendor early
Selecting and implementing electronic medical records (EMR) doesn't happen in a day. Take the time, well before being ready to implement EMR, to select the EMR vendors to include on a short list to evaluate. With over 400 EMR vendors in the market, it's hard to know what to look for. Additionally, with the available CMS EHR Incentive Program dollars, many early EMR adopters are purchasing and implementing now, creating a wait list with many EMR vendors. Build that time into the implementation plan. Even without a wait list, realistically, a successful implementation of EMR-only could take up to 2 months. Implementation of both PM + EMR could be up to 3 months. Keep in mind that an implementation launch is dependent on mutual availability of resources of the EMR software vendor and the organization seeking to go live on EMR.
Our Commitment To Certification Through All The States Of Meaningful Use
A Commitment to Our Clients
To help providers achieve their own cost and quality benefits, HITECH will reward those who invest in EHR technology. Physicians will be required to demonstrate "Meaningful Use" of a certified EHR, including the use of e-Prescribing, clinical data exchange and outcomes reporting capabilities. MicroMD EMR from Henry Schein is already well positioned to help physicians maximize their incentive payments in year one and beyond. And the MicroMD development team continues to monitor emerging requirements. Henry Schein is committed to maintaining EHR certification requirements, helping you comply with all relevant HITECH and HIPAA rules and supporting your organization as healthcare enters a new era of automation.
Have questions, e-mail stimulus@micromd.com
Henry Schein MicroMD EMR versions 7.5, 7.6, 7.7 and 8.1
MicroMD EMR Versions 7.5, 7.6, 7.7 and 8.1 have successfully attained ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 COMPLETE EHR certification under the Final Rules: Establishment of the Temporary Certification Program for Health Information Technology (45 CFR Part 170, RIN 0991-AB59) published on June 24, 2010 and Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology (45 CFR Part 170, RIN 0991–AB58), published on July 28, 2010 (collectively, the “Final Rule”). The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) is recognized by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) under this initial certification program created to certify that electronic health records (EHRs) are capable of meeting the 2011/2012 criteria to support Stage 1 incentives for the meaningful use of certified EHR technology by eligible providers and hospitals as described in ARRA.
Links To Other Sources Of Reliable Info
References
Navigating the multitude of regulations associated with the CMS EHR Incentive Programs can be challenging. Understanding how to help achieve the goals for health information technology and securing EMR reimbursement incentives is not as simple as just purchasing and using software. As a provider, we recommend that you tour the information presented on our Henry Schein MicroMD EMR Incentive Center for an overview.