Government
Medicare EMR demo attracts interest
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 2, 2008
More than 30 communities have applied for only 12 spots in an upcoming Medicare demonstration project that will provide financial incentives to primary care physicians to use certified electronic medical record systems. Dept. of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said the project is expected to reduce medical errors for millions of patients.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services plans to select the 12 participating communities in June.
In the fall, the agency will begin work with its partners in those areas to recruit up to 1,200 small- to medium-sized physician practices to join in the five-year project. The practices will receive incentive payments and financial bonuses for using their EMRs systems to help reach clinical quality targets outlined by CMS. The most successful practices could receive as much as $58,000 per physician or up to $290,000 per practice for the five-year run.
"This is an outstanding response from communities and, in some cases, entire states," Leavitt said. "It shows the great appetite for programs that offer incentives to physicians who efficiently use [EMRs] to improve the quality of care they provide to their patients."
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/06/02/gvbf0602.htm.
