July 11, 2011

Dear Client,

Do you ever find yourself wishing you knew more about the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program requirements? The following website is an easy place to see the bullet points of each incentive: http://www.cms.gov/ehrincentiveprograms.

We encourage you to go to the website for complete information on the Meaningful Use incentive plans. For your convenience, an excerpt of the information available on that website follows: 

Electronic Health Record (EHR)
or Electronic Medical Record (EMR)?

Sometimes people use the terms "Electronic Medical Record" or "EMR" when talking about Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology. Very often an Electronic Medical Record or EMR is just another way to describe an Electronic Health Record or EHR, and both providers and vendors sometimes use the terms interchangeably. For the purposes of the Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Programs, eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) must use certified EHR technology. Certified EHR technology gives assurance to purchasers and other users that an EHR system or module offers the necessary technological capability, functionality, and security to help them meet the meaningful use criteria. Certification also helps providers and patients be confident that the electronic health IT products and systems they use are secure, can maintain data confidentially, and can work with other systems to share information. For more information about which EHR systems and modules are certified for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, please visit http://healthit.hhs.gov/.

The Medicare EHR Incentive Program

The Medicare EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs that demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

•  Participation can begin as early as 2011.

•  Eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 over five years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. There's an additional incentive for eligible professionals who provide services in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).

•  To get the maximum incentive payment, Medicare eligible professionals must begin participation by 2012.

•  Incentive payments for eligible hospitals and CAHs may begin as early as 2011 and are based on a number of factors, beginning with a $2 million base payment.

•  Important! For 2015 and later, Medicare eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHS that do not successfully demonstrate meaningful use will have a payment adjustment in their Medicare reimbursement.

Note: If you are a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO), please visit our Medicare Advantage page.

The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program

The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHS as they adopt, implement, upgrade, or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology in their first year of participation and demonstrate meaningful use for up to five remaining participation years.

•  The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program is voluntarily offered by individual states and territories and may begin as early as 2011, depending on the state.

•  Eligible professionals can receive up to $63,750 over the six years that they choose to participate in the program.

•  Eligible hospital incentive payments may begin as early as 2011, depending on when the state begins its program. The last year a Medicaid eligible hospital may begin the program is 2016. Hospital payments are based on a number of factors, beginning with a $2 million base payment.

•  There are no payment adjustments under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

Important Dates

•  September 30, 2011 (Friday) - Last day of the federal fiscal year. Reporting year ends for eligible hospitals and CAHs.

•  October 3, 2011 (Monday) - Last day for eligible professionals to begin their 90-day reporting period for calendar year 2011 for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.

•  November 30, 2011 (Wednesday) - Last day for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals to register and attest to receive an Incentive Payment for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2011.

•  December 31, 2011 (Saturday) - Reporting year ends for eligible professionals.

•  February 29, 2012 (Wednesday) - Last day for eligible professionals to register and attest to receive an Incentive Payment for calendar year (CY) 2011.

Prime Clinical has kept our commitment to our clients by using the latest technology and being among the best in the industry. Our integrated Ambulatory Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, Patient Chart Manager V.5.5 has been awarded an ONC-ATCB "Complete EHR Certification" by infoGARD, December 2010. Our certification number is: 30000001SZJKEA0. This Complete EHR is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

If you visit the http://healthit.hhs.gov/ site given in the above information, you will be able to find Patient Chart Manager, V.5.5, on the Certified Health IT Product List. 

•  Scroll down to the last item on the right: 800 EHR Products Now Certified.

•  Click on Certified Health IT Product List in the text.

•  At Step 1 SELECT YOUR PRACTICE TYPE, click on the Ambulatory Practice Type button. A screen will display which includes the following box:

•  The first field offers a drop down menu which allows you to search by Vendor Name, Product Name, or CHPL Product Number.

If you accept the default option (Product Name) in the <Select search type> field, enter Patient Chart Manager in the <Search for> field and click on the Search button.

If you select Vendor Name in the <Select search type> field, enter Prime Clinical Systems in the <Search for> field and click on the Search button.

Don't forget that Prime Clinical also offers Meaningful Use workshops every Monday and Thursday. Workshops cover various Meaningful Use objectives as requested by users upon joining the session. Access our workshop webpage by clicking here, then click on PCM Workshops, Hosted Workshops, and then Meaningful Use.

Sincerely,

PCM Support and Training

Prime Clinical Systems