The following highlights portions of proposed HITECH rules.
Check back for updates regarding final regulations.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 means that every practice in the US will soon have an EHR. But, quick action is critical to ensure maximum benefits for your practice.
The HITECH Act of ARRA provides $17.2 billion in funds to encourage the widespread implementation of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems.
Physicians who demonstrate meaningful use of EHR technology will receive significant incentive payments over a five year period, after which incentives end for all physicians and medicare penalties begin. The $44,000 that each physician can recognize will likely cover the cost of the EHR system.
But, experts expect a crush of practices in 2010 to overwhelm the industry's ability to implement EHRs in time for all groups to be eligible for the earliest and largest incentive payments.
Many practices that wait to begin their EHR search and implementation will face two, difficult repercussions:
* Incentive amounts decline each year, as maximum incentives are front-loaded in the program. In other words, the longer you wait, the fewer incentive dollars you'll see.
* Those who do not make meaningful use of EHR technology will be subject to reduced Medicare payments.
The bottom-line is that delaying your EHR decision could cost your practice thousands of dollars.
Timeline for Maximum EHR Incentives 
