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Economic Stimulus Plan:
The Revolution of Healthcare
On February 17, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Act is intended to achieve widespread adoption of health IT and enable electronic exchange of health information. It offers incentives through Medicare and Medicaid to reward providers for demonstrating the “meaningful use” of certified electronic health record (EHR) technologies.
The Facts
- Starting in 2011, meaningful EHR users can earn $44,000 under the Medicare plan and $64,000 under the Medicaid plan over 5 years.
- Early adopters benefit most, as about 70% of the payments come in the first two years.
- Those engaged in Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and electronic prescribing can earn an additional $6,000 - $8,000 per year beginning immediately.
- Physicians that do not adopt an EHR by 2015 will be penalized through percent decreases in Medicare reimbursement rates.
What is Meaningful Use?
It is not enough to just purchase and implement an EHR system. “Meaningful use” is defined in the legislation as:
- Using certified EHR technology that includes electronic prescribing
- Using EHR technology that allows electronic exchanged of health information
- Eligible professionals must submit information for the period on the clinical quality measures and other measures selected by the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
It is anticipated that HHS will provide specifics and clarity about what providers will need to do to demonstrate meaningful use. This means that most providers will have one year – 2010 – to finish EHR implementation and put the infrastructure, applications and training in place to be eligible to receive as much of the incentive money as possible.
Privacy
In addition to these regulations, Congress passed a number of privacy protections designed to safeguard the rights of patients to keep health records private. The Bill:
- Prohibits the sale of out medical records without consent. (There are exceptions for research, public health and treatment.)
- Limits marketing
- Requires any entity using an EHR to keep an audit trail of all people and organizations with whom they share your information.
- Mandates policies setting standards for technology systems to segment sensitive information.
- Mandates policies setting standards for encryption of data.
- Increases monetary penalties for violations
The Solution
Providers will now need to choose from dozens of technology companies and evaluate which will allow them to seamlessly upgrade to a paperless practice and become a part of the healthcare revolution. There is only one choice that will give physicians the ability to:
- Document their patient encounters through use of multiple input methods in less time than it takes today
- Access medical records anywhere, at any time, through a secure internet connection so all of their patient’s doctors can access the record in an emergency in a HIPAA-compliant manner
- Upgrade to a paperless practice with a minimal investment and meet new government guidelines for electronic health records
- Use a revolutionary billing system that allows them to create claims from voice-driven hybrid digital medical records and prepare and submit claims to insurance providers in less than 30 minutes
- Order labs, provide educational material to patients, send prescription requests and earn the full Medicare E-Prescribing bonus payments
- Participate in a virtual community of colleagues and find the right answers faster
- Take advantage of the growing abundance of web services designed to improve their practice
- Be a part of the Internet healthcare revolution
Doctations is the world’s first web-native software as a service for doctors, patients and billing staff to provide a better solution. This innovative technology helps doctors rapidly and sensibly author high quality Internet-enabled Digital Medical Records (iDMRs). This revolutionary technology was integrated with an intelligent front desk management system and a state-of-the-art, automated billing system to help physicians achieve practice efficiencies not previously possible. Doctations leverages the Internet to share workload, conserve physician time, increase practice profitability and improve patient care. All while moving physicians and their patients towards internet healthcare and onto a shared network called the DocPatientNetwork.
By utilizing subscription pricing instead of a substantial upfront investment, Doctations provides physicians with an affordable option that is completely customizable to suit any medical practice. Through efficient patient interactions, interoffice communications and by leveraging the Internet, Doctations enables doctors to collaborate on shaping solutions to the national healthcare crisis. The future of healthcare is on the web. By leveraging the Internet, Doctations improves doctors’ quality of life and empowers a grassroots movement to improve healthcare for all of us.
ARRA Bonus Tables
Over $29 billion has been dedicated to healthcare information technology in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that Congress has passed.
$29 Billion Stimulus Breakdown:
- $2B for HIT infrastructure, especially HIE
- $17.2B Medicare/Medicaid incentives to doctors and hospitals for “meaningful” use of certified HIT (net after government projected savings)
- $4.7B for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration´s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
- $2.5B for the U.S. Department of Agriculture´s Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program
- $1.1B for comparative effectiveness grants from AHRQ, NIH, and HHS- does automation improve care
- $1.5B for the community health centers through the Health Resources and Services Administration;
- $500M for the Social Security Administration;
- $85M for the Indian Health Service; and
- $50M for the Veterans Benefits Administration
- Assorted “pockets” of HIT funding in state and community funding allotments.
$29.6B IN TOTAL (not counting local funding)
Note: There is actually another $20B for Medicare Incentives before government calculations for savings. The real total for Health IT is about $50 B.)
Meaningful Use of EHR technology:
For physicians to take advantage of incentives, they must be able to demonstrate “meaningful use” of health information technology:
- The EHR is being used to e-prescribe
- The EHR is connected to provide electronic exchange of health information to improve quality and promote care coordination
- The EHR is able to report on clinical quality measures as specified by the Secretary
Medicare Incentives:
- Incentives will start in 2011
- Available to all non-hospital physicians who see Medicare patients
- Eligible physicians can receive up to $44K over a five-year period
- Minimum for Medicare participation: Providers must bill 125% of the total incentive received over the five-year period of incentive distribution
- Must prove "meaningful use" of an EHR
- Physicians who have not adopted an EHR by January 1, 2015 will be penalized by reduced Medicare payments
|
Medicare Incentives Schedule |
|||||||
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
Total |
|
1-4 |
$18K |
$12K |
$8K |
$4K |
$2K |
|
$44K |
|
1-4 |
|
$18K |
$12K |
$8K |
$4K |
$2K |
$44K |
|
1-4 |
|
|
$15K |
$12K |
$8K |
$4K |
$39K |
|
2-4 |
|
|
|
$12K |
$8K |
$4K |
$24K |
|
No Pay |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$0 |
|
No Pay |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$0 |
Medicaid Incentives:
- Available only to non-hospital based clinicians, including dentists, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants practicing in rural health clinics or FQHCs
- Medicaid incentives range up to $65K over a five-year period
- Minimum for Medicaid participation: 30% of a clinician´s patients must use Medicaid, with the exception of pediatricians, who only need to have 20% of their patients using Medicaid
- Startup incentive up to $25,000 in state loan funds will be available in year one toward the purchase a certified EHR
- After receiving startup funds, providers who can prove "meaningful use" can receive up to $10,000 annually for an additional four years
- No penalities have been defined by Medicaid for lack of adoption
|
Medicaid Incentives Schedule |
||||||||
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
Total |
|
$25K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
|
|
|
$65K |
|
|
$25K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
|
|
$65K |
|
|
|
$25K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
|
$65K |
|
|
|
|
$25K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
$65K |
|
|
|
|
|
$25K |
$10K |
$10K |
$10K |
$55K |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$25K |
$10K |
$10K |
$45K |
