Andromeda's Role In Leveraging Government Incentives For Your Electronic Medical Record System

Your Key To Unlocking Government Incentives For EMR

Time is of the essence! By delaying your EMR/EHR installation into 2012, you have already missed out on some one-time tax incentives (Section 179 bonus write-offs). Other stimulus incentives are in place but are already slated for phase out over the coming years!. For example:

ARRA HITECH Act* Physician Reimbursement Plan (Medicare) Electronic Health Records Software EMR Adoption Year Reimbursements 2011 → 2016 2011 ↓ 2015 $44,000 ↓ $0

If your practice includes a sufficient amount of Medicaid services, the maximum could be as much as $63,750! * Limitations apply. This material presents Andromeda's interpretation of the stimulus act as described in the Title XIII Health Information Technology portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Please consult the United States government websites for specific details. Andromeda relies on information from 3rd parties and accepts no responsibility or liability for the content provided herein.

One of the many keys to avoid losing out on the maximum reimbursement lies with the full understanding of the phrase "Adoption Year." While the details of the final government requirements are not fully defined, this much should be clear:

• "Adoption" refers to "meaningful use" of an accredited EMR system
• "Year" refers to verified "meaningful use" by January 1st of that year
• "Meaningful use" implies, at minimum:
1. A purchased, installed & fully functioning EMR/EHR system
2. A staff fully-trained with all or at least most aspects of the system
3. More than token application of the system for patient records and interaction

This means that a medical practice still contemplating a conversion to an accredited EMR system now has less than one year's time to:

1. Decide on which of over 100 EMR systems to implement
2. Contract an experienced, reputable, local IT company to install it (and expand your data network as necessary to accommodate it!)
3. Complete the staff training phase
4. Accumulate enough patient record use to pass a government determination for "meaningful use" by 1/1/2013!

The Key Is Prompt, Error-Free Installation!

So, what will it take for you to achieve the maximum (and earliest possible) stimulus reimbursements? You should complete the first two steps outlined above by mid-2012 to allow reasonable time to complete the rest. Furthermore, it is essential that the installation be complete and error-free before training begins. Even one "flaky" machine, connection, or component means that training is delayed or, worse, trainer and trainee get hopelessly confused over a problem that isn't even theirs to deal with!

This is precisely the area where Andromeda shines. First, while we are not EMR selection consultants, our vast experience in the field gives us access to resources—some offering free services to their clients!—that provide individualized, non-partisan advice for EMR/EHR selection.

More to the point, Andromeda makes the installation/support step of the process completely painless.

Government financial incentive for early adoption of EMR systems is an important motivator, of course. But it is worth noting that the ultimate benefit of implementing such a system lies in the stream-lined efficiency and ease with which it will allow you to conduct your practice. This is true for both internal interactions among your staff and with patients as well as external interactions with hospitals and government health entities. The benefits extend well beyond government reporting and patient billing. They reach into the very heart of your daily practice: patient charting, self-documenting prescriptions, appointment scheduling, information flow among doctors and hospitals, and much more. Mistakes and miscommunications in any of these areas can be both costly and dangerous—EMR systems can be your best weapon against them! Clearly, delayed implementation of an EMR simply delays the daily benefits that you will ultimately reap from one.