subject: Stimulus Incentives: An Overview [print this page] Adoption rate for EMR software within the United States is low. The need for an EMR solution implemented in every healthcare facility comes from excess cost for service as well as inefficient information exchange between facilities. To improve the current state of the healthcare industry, the Government has issued the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This Act established the means for transforming healthcare in the United States by offering monetary incentives to physicians that demonstrate meaningful use of a certified EMR solution. But what is meaningful use and how do physicians receive the incentives?
The governments overall objective is to increase communication and connectivity between healthcare facilities and patients. By bridging this gap, the government anticipates improved patient care and a reduction in redundant medical procedures. With a certified Electronic Medical Record solution both of these problems can be handled. Through an EMR solution, patient data is captured in an electronic format which can then be transferred between physician practices, hospitals and other patient health information exchanges. By eliminating paper records, patient information no longer needs to be exchanged via fax and specific details can be grouped for better reporting allowing physicians to target specific health risk groups and delivering better care.
By using a certified EMR solution, physicians essentially wont need to change the way they currently practice. Physicians will document the visit as they normally do, except now the patients records are in electronic format. Certified EMR solutions would allow physicians to run reports on health risk factors, (among other criteria) and then exchange that information with a health information exchange hub - achieving one of the many goals towards fulfilling meaningful use.
Receiving the incentives takes nothing more than documenting patient visits in an electronic format from a Certified EMR solution, running the outlined reports specified by ARRA, and connecting that data to a health information exchange. If the Cash for Clunkers program from the government worked, physicians should look forward to this HITECH Act.
