Revise Unfair e-prescribing Penalty

Physicians have been encouraged to switch from paper records to electronic systems in their offices, and the push seems to be working. In 2010, 50.7% of office-based doctors used some type of electronic medical records system — more than twice the adoption rate through 2005, says a December 2010 survey by the Centers for Disease [...]

OmniMD™ EHR Version 11.0 Receives ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 Certification

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 5, 2011
Media Contact:
Ted Dave
pr@omnmd.com
tdave@omnimd.com
January 5, 2011 – Integrated Systems Management Inc announced today that OmniMD™ EHR, Version 11.0 is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as a Complete EHR on January 4, 2011 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable (eligible provider) certification [...]

AMA to HHS: Medicare e-Rx Penalty Policy Unreasonable

WASHINGTON – The American Medical Association (AMA) and 103 state and specialty medical societies are urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to revise the Medicare e-prescribing penalty policy, which would penalize physicians in 2012 if they don’t e-prescribe in the first six months of 2011.
The letter, sent by the AMA to HHS [...]

Biden Touts Impact Of HIT Stimulus On Economy

The Obama administration used about half of a 50-page report on innovations targeted by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to underscore the importance of health and medical IT to the nation’s economic future.
The stimulus legislation, passed in February 2009, was designed to jumpstart the economy.
In presenting the report, Vice President Joe Biden, who was [...]

Initial EHR Certification Bodies Named

Key step in national initiative toward adoption of electronic health records
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), Chicago, Ill. and the Drummond Group Inc. (DGI), Austin, Texas, were named today by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) as the first technology review bodies that have been authorized to test [...]

E-prescribing could help control medical radiation exposure

By, Nicholas Christiano Jr.
There has been considerable discussion on the federal stimulus program and the impact it will have in bringing about an improved patient care model through the use of technology. This anticipates care providers having access to electronic health records (EHRs) that can communicate, or “interoperate,” with other health providers and health systems [...]

Making the transition to the E-prescribing era

By Angela Martin
Payers and health plans have pushed for new incentives for electronic prescription in 2009. For example, in January, Medicare paid doctors a bonus if they exchanged their prescription pads over to e-prescribing. Various private health plans have also offered extra payments along with free equipment.
What the stats say: According to Web sources, the [...]

Study: Implementing EHR, e-prescribing is challenging, but beneficial over time

Benefits from EHR and e-prescribing investments come under very broad, diverse categories but are very individual and specific to the retrospective context of an investment, according to a study by the European Commission. There is no single correct strategy for implementing EHRs and e-prescribing systems, yet the results of the study give grounds for optimism [...]

CMS to allow EHR reporting for PQRI, e-prescribing bonuses in 2010

By Neil Versel,

The new Medicare Part B fee schedule for 2010 is encouraging doctors to adopt EHRs by, for the first time, allowing practices to use real clinical data from EHRs and e-prescribing systems to report quality measures for the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and e-prescribing incentive programs. The change, according to CMS, [...]

Changes ahead for quality reporting, e-prescribing programs

Bernie Monegain, Editor
Key changes to physician quality reporting and e-prescribing incentives are being proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
The proposed changes add reporting measures and a way for reporting by group practice rather than individual physician, as well as provisions for EHR-based reporting. For e-prescribing, CMS aims to simplify the reporting measures.
The Physician [...]