Interesting piece addressing the urgency of needing to adopt EHRs sooner rather than later to maximize incentives and avoid penalties. This article seems to indicate that only 08 CCHIT Certified EHR solutions could qualify for the functionality requirements in the Stimulus legislation.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society President and CEO H. Stephen Lieber said that although many of the details of the health IT provisions included in the stimulus packaged still need to be worked out, health care providers should start planning the rollout of electronic health record systems now to gain the maximum financial incentives, Health Data Management reports.
…he said that software vendors and health care providers cannot afford to delay health IT projects because health care providers must have qualifying EHR systems in place by 2011 to maximize incentive payments.
Qualifying Systems
Under the stimulus package, qualifying EHR systems must include:
The ability to support the exchange of clinical data with other organizations (interoperability).
Upfront Costs
Lieber said that while the stimulus package does include some funding for health IT grants and loans, "most providers will have to make their own upfront investments in technology."
…Lieber stressed that if health care providers fail to invest in health IT, they could face substantial long-term cuts in Medicare funding (Anderson, Health Data Management, 2/18).
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