Health Care Law Blog

EHR Incentive Program Updates

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS"), CMS has already paid $75 million to health care providers for meaningful use of electronic health records ("EHR") since the first incentive payments began in mid-May, 2011. This number is only expected to rise as physicians and hospitals have until the end of 2012 to attest to "meaningful use" of EHR and become entitled to receive the maximum amounts over a five-year period.

Moreover, the Medicaid EHR incentive program has already paid out $114 million in incentives.  Currently 17 states (including Michigan) have established EHR incentive programs, but more states hope to launch similar programs next year.

CMS and the states hope that these incentive programs will encourage doctors, hospitals and healthcare providers to use health information technology.  Ultimately, the goal with health information technology is to provide better care to patients through faster access to complete patient information.

While many health professionals have already taken advantage of these incentives, it is not too late for those health professionals contemplating the switch to EHR to partake in the EHR incentives.

Contact one of Foster Swift's health law attorneys for more information on how you can take advantage of the EHR incentive programs.

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