Since 2011, the US government has been rewarding health care providers for the adoption of electronic health records, and according to data from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services, Florida health care providers have received the third highest amount paid to any state.
To be eligible for these incentive payments, providers must demonstrate compliance with an ever-growing set of “meaningful use” criteria, such as being able to electronically order prescriptions or laboratory tests, collecting health information in a standard format, and tracking key clinical conditions. Additional sets of criteria are added incrementally, with the ultimate goal for patients to have access to self-management tools and to improve population health.
Physicians and other health care providers must navigate complicated and costly requirements to gain eligibility for incentive funds — a process with plenty of challenges and pitfalls. To make the EHR compliance process feasible and efficient for physicians, the Florida Medical Association has focused attention on developing resources for health information technology (HIT).
“The FMA has worked extensively to provide our 20,000 physician members with the information they need to build an EHR infrastructure into their practices,” said Timothy J. Stapleton, FMA EVP.ย “Our HIT Resource Center provides up to the minute information on issues like EHR incentives and health information exchanges. The more we can help physicians practice medicine, the more they can focus on their patients.”
EHR adoption not only provides incentives for physicians – but also for patients, who benefit from more efficient and coordinated care.ย For young physicians in particular, EHR is a critical component of patient care.ย As far back as 2009, the 4th Annual Future Physicians of America study showed that 90% of medical students consider it important or very important to have an EHR where they intend to practice.ย
Reported in Wednesday’s Tampa Bay Business Journal, Florida providers have received $977.6 million in incentive payments to date, second only to California and Texas.
Approximately 19,900 payments have been made to Florida physicians with an average payment of $50,050.ย
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