On February 17, 2009 the Economic Stimulus Bill also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 was finalized and signed by President Obama. A large portion of the stimulus focuses specifically on the improvements within the Healthcare Industry. This section of the stimulus is known as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) and discusses the improvement of Healthcare Quality, Safety, and Efficiency; Testing of Health Information Technology; Grants and Loans Funding; and Privacy.
The HITECH Act is extremely vague and physicians may not comprehend all of the terminology of what a ‘certified EHR’ or what a ‘meaningful user’ entails; therefore, they may not understand how to receive the full reimbursement amount of $64,000 (per physician). This article is to educate physicians about the HITECH Act and what it means for you to receive as much monetary reimbursements as possible.
First, the law states that a physician must purchase a certified Electronic Health Record. Within the bill, it is plausible that ‘certified’ stands for a CCHIT Certified® product; however, it does state that the Secretary must have the term “certified” finalized by December 31, 2009. Although we are unsure as to whether or not ‘certified’ officially means CCHIT, the entire act implies that it will become the standard. Therefore, physicians who are beginning the search process should be reviewing EHRs that are CCHIT Certified®.
CCHIT stands for the Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, which is a non-profit organization with the undertaking to accelerate the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology by creating a credible efficient certification process.’ The CCHIT requires that the EHR Product must meet all of the 250 criteria points in order to be approved. As a physician, be sure when EHR shopping that you look at the certification year. EHR Companies have a three year window before they must renew their CCHIT Certification. Companies that were certified in 2006 must become re-certified this year in order to maintain the CCHIT status. In addition, the approval process since 2008 has become more demanding and the organization is rejecting more companies than approving them. Therefore, focusing on EHRs that have a more recent CCHIT Certification year (2008, 2009) are more likely to have all of the features that would consist of a ‘certified EHR’ as stated within the HITECH Act.
If you are a specialty specific physician, please be sure to look on the CCHIT website to see if your specialty will be CCHIT Certified® within the year.
The second set of terminology within the bill states that to receive any amount of reimbursement, you must be a ‘meaningful EHR user.’ To be a meaningful EHR user, you must efficiently use your EHR for at least one fiscal year before you receive your first reimbursement payment. As a physician, you must understand what it means to ‘efficiently use your EHR.’ The government is requiring you to report on clinical quality measures. This way, they have proof that you have purchased a certified EHR, and are a meaningful user (as evident through the reporting). To take advantage of the stimulus and immediately benefit to receive your first incentive payment in 2011, you should purchase a CCHIT Certified® EHR within the year of 2009, train your staff how to effectively and efficiently use the system, and begin reporting in 2010. You may believe that waiting to purchase an EHR is better; however, you run the risk of not receiving your first payment of either $18,000 in 2011. By implementing an Electronic Health Record immediately, you will be able to receive $44,000 of reimbursements through Medicare and Medicaid. After your first year of reporting, the incentives reduce annually. In the second year, you are eligible to receive $12,000; third year, you are eligible to receive $8,000; fourth year, you are eligible to receive $4,000; and in the fifth year, you are eligible to receive $2,000.
Physicians, like anyone else procrastinate and will wait until the last minute to conform. Please don’t! Take advantage of the incentives that the Government is offering. Penalties beginning in 2015 will affect physicians that choose to wait to purchase an Electronic Health Record. Begin researching the EHR Industry, start scheduling demonstrations, and narrow down your EHR results. Waiting until the last minute will negatively affect your medical practice.
Tags: ARRA, electronic health record, Health Information Technology, HITECH Act
7 Comments
ICMCC Website - Articles » Blog Archive » What the HITECH Act Means to Physicians - Feb 27, 2009
[...] Efficiency; Testing of Health Information Technology; Grants and Loans Funding; and Privacy.” Article EMRBlog, 27 February [...]
Dictator - Mar 26, 2009
Dr. David Blumenthal now seems to be saying today, in the NEJM, that if you implement an EHR in 2013, that you’ll receive up to $27,000 in additional incentive payments.
Is anyone aware of how that math is calculated?
Thanks.
RaiulBaztepo - Mar 29, 2009
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
Eric Schweitzer - Apr 3, 2009
Can someone poinbt to the section in the act that specifies: “To be a meaningful EHR user, you must efficiently use your EHR for at least one fiscal year before you receive your first reimbursement payment.”
Marshall Maglothin - Oct 11, 2009
The first two HITECH priority grant programs, funded through the Recovery Act, support the national implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) initiative.
Approximately $598 million is being made available through the Health Information Technology Extension Program (Extension Program), to ensure that comprehensive support is available to health technology users.
Under the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program $564 million will be awarded to support efforts to achieve widespread and sustainable health information exchange (HIE) within and among States through the meaningful use of certified Electronic Health Records.
State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program
The State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program will help States and Qualified State Designated Entities (SDEs) to develop or align the necessary policies, procedures and network systems to assist electronic information exchange within and across states, and ultimately throughout the health care system. A key to this program’s overall success will be technical, legal and financial support for information exchanges across health care providers.
The Extension Program will provide grants for the establishment of Regional Health Information Technology Extension Centers (Regional Centers) that will offer technical assistance, guidance and information on Electronic Health Records best practices. These estimated 70 (or more) Regional Centers each will serve a defined geographic area. The Regional Centers will support at least 100,000 primary care providers, (and receive $5,000 for EACH PROVIDER that is successful at “meaningful use”) through participating non-profit organizations, in achieving meaningful use of EHRs and enabling nationwide health information exchange with direct, individualized and on-site technical assistance in:
Selecting a certified EHR product that offers best value for the providers’ needs;
Achieving effective implementation of a certified EHR product;
Enhancing clinical and administrative workflows to optimally leverage an EHR system’s potential to improve quality and value of care, including patient experience as well as outcome of care; and,
Observing and complying with applicable legal, regulatory, professional and ethical requirements to protect the integrity, privacy and security of patients’ health information.
The Extension Program will also establish a national Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC), funded separately, which will gather relevant information on effective practices from a wide variety of sources across the country and help the Regional Centers collaborate with one another and with relevant stakeholders to identify and share best practices in EHR adoption, effective use, and provider support.
Grants under the Extension Program will be awarded on a rolling basis with an expected 20 grants awarded in the first quarter of FY2010, another 25 in the third quarter and the remaining awards in the fourth quarter of FY2010. The initial funding includes approximately $598 million to ensure that comprehensive support is available to providers under the Extension Program beginning early in FY2010, with an additional $45 million available for years 3 and 4 of the program. Federal support continues for four years, after which the program is expected to be self-sustaining. Of the total federal investment in this program, about $50 million is dedicated to establishing the national HITRC, and $643 million is devoted to the Regional Centers.
The law requires that Regional Centers be affiliated with a U.S.-based, nonprofit institution or organization, or an entity thereof, that applies for and is awarded funding under the Extension Program. The program anticipates that potential applicants will represent various types of nonprofit organizations and institutions with established support and recognition within the local communities they propose to serve.
The performance of each Regional Center will be evaluated every two years by a HHS-appointed panel of private experts, none of whom are associated with the center being evaluated. Continued support for the Regional Center after the conclusion of the second year of performance will be contingent on the panel’s evaluation being, on the whole, positive and on HHS’ determination that such continued federal support for the center is in the best interest of the program.
The Regional Centers will focus their most intensive technical assistance on clinicians (physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners) furnishing primary-care services, with a particular emphasis on individual and small group practices (fewer than 10 clinicians with prescriptive privileges). Clinicians in such practices deliver the majority of primary care services, but have the lowest rates of adoption of EHR systems, and the least access to resources to help them implement, use and maintain such systems. Regional Centers will also focus intensive technical assistance on clinicians providing primary care in public and critical access hospitals, community health centers, and in other settings that predominantly serve uninsured, underinsured, and medically underserved populations.
The Extension Program expects all Regional Centers to be operating at full capacity by the end of December 2010. In addition, it is expected that by the end of December 2012, the Regional Centers will be largely self-sustaining and their need for continued federal support in the remaining two years of the program will be minimal.
Additional information is available at http://healthit.hhs.gov/extensionprogram
Jack Anderson - Jan 19, 2010
Don’t forget compliance. The physician office must be in compliance with the privacy and security standards in the HITECH Act, which include policies, procedures, and forms. Also be aware that there is responsibility for making sure that the physician’s business associate are compliant also. More information at our website http://www.compliancehelper.com
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