HITECH Act- What Healthcare Providers Need to Know Now
(Last updated: 10/02/2009)
On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Stimulus Bill). The Stimulus Bill includes significant financial provisions for the expanded use of information to reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of care across the continuum.
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, the section within the American Recovery and Reimbursement Act pertaining to healthcare and healthcare IT funding, provides the following funding:
- $2 billion for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC)
- $20.819 billion in incentives through the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement systems to assist providers in adopting EHRs
- $4.7 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
- $2.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program
- $1.5 billion for construction, renovation, and equipment for health centers through the Health Resources and Services Administration
- $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- $85 million for health IT, including telehealth services, within the Indian Health Service
- $500 million for the Social Security Administration
- $50 million for information technology within the Veterans Benefits Administration
Eligible professionals in Physician Practices and Community Health Centers can benefit from the funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Payments to eligible professionals as part of the HITECH Act will be made over time, with larger payouts for those who can prove meaningful use before the deadline for year one funding. Physicians able to show meaningful use for years two through five may also receive funding, but it will be less than the maximum amount. Additionally, providers will suffer penalties through reduced Medicare reimbursement payments if they do not become users of certified EMR systems by 2015.
The bottom line is the sooner a provider can prove meaningful use of a certified EMR, the more likely they are to cash in on the maximum available funding.
Physician Practices
Stimulus funding for eligible professionals in Physician Practices is triggered when providers demonstrate the meaningful use of a certified EMR.
Meaningful use is tentatively defined as demonstrated performance during the reporting period for each payment year of:
- Electronic prescribing
- Interoperability in a manner that provides an electronic exchange of information that improves the quality of care by promoting care coordination
- Reporting clinical quality measures and other measures selected by the Secretary of HHS
Certified EMR is currently, yet tentatively, defined as a system that includes the following:
- Patient demographics
- Clinical Health Information
- Capacity to provide clinical decision support / physician order entry
- Capacity to capture and query information relevant to healthcare quality and to exchange electronic health information with and integrate such information from other sources.
Further definitions of meaningful use and certified systems will be posted as they become available.
FUNDING
The funding is distributed through Medicare and Medicaid incentives, but providers cannot take part in both.
The maximum Medicare incentive per provider is $44,000 over 5 years (2011-2015) and will be distributed no earlier than January 1, 2011.
2011 - $18,000 max
2012 - $12,000
2013 - $ 8,000
2014 - $ 4,000
2015 - $ 2,000
For those eligible professionals who serve in “health professional shortage areas,” incentive payments will increase by 10%.
Medicare Penalties, or payment adjustments, begin in 2015 and are scheduled as follows:
2015 – 1%
2016 – 2%
2017 – 3%
2018 – 3-5%
Maximum penalties in future years are no more than 5%.
There are no stated Medicaid penalties at this time.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING
In addition to Stimulus Bill funding, there are currently additional incentives in place for providers to take advantage of right now through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Click on the links below to learn more:
- E-Prescribing Incentives estimated at $3,000-$5,000 per year
- Summary
- Fact Sheet
- Press Release
- Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) Incentive estimated at $3,000-$5,000 per year
HOW MEDSFILE.COM CAN HELP
We offer affordable, high-quality technology and services to healthcare providers of all types. By combining knowledge, technology and service, we are committed to improving business processes in Physician Practices nationwide.
The MedsFile Electronic Medical Record (EMR) will meet all the requirements established by the government for receipt of funding. With a proven track record of quality service, innovative technology, and trusted expertise, MedsFile EMR enables Physician Practices to realize the maximum benefits of electronic records:
- Enhanced patient care and safety
- Streamlined business processes
- Improved financial outcomes
Successful Electronic Medical Record solutions accommodate the way you work. MedsFile EMR was developed with the help of physicians, which means our flexible system works the way your providers do—not the other way around. In fact, our user definable templates continue to be one of our strongest selling points.
“Because we know that spiraling healthcare costs are crushing families and businesses alike, we're taking the most meaningful steps in years towards modernizing our healthcare system. It's an investment that will take the long overdue step of computerizing America's medical records, to reduce the duplication and waste that costs billions of healthcare dollars and medical errors that cost thousands of lives each year."
- President Barack Obama, February 17, 2009