According to a release by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the first Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Payments will be issued this week.

CMS made this announcement, saying providers who have successfully attested to having met meaningful use, and who have met all the other program requirements, can expect to receive their 2011 incentive payments soon.

This is exciting news, as billions of dollars in Recover funds have been allocated for improvement in Health Information Technology (HIT) through the use of electronic health records.

The other main program, the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, has been underway since January 2011 and has issued over $83 million to date.

For more information, please visit the CMS website.

Published 19 May 2011 - 0 comments (View/Post Comments)   

Conference calls on how to participate in the attestation process for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program

An announcement from ONC-HIT (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology) outlines what organizations need to do to move forward in the process to receive incentives through the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program.

Sign Up for CMS' National Provider Calls about Attestation
CMS is holding conference calls for eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) participating in the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program to provide information on the attestation process. These calls will take place next week. Mark your calendars for one of the calls below.

• Tuesday, May 3, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. ET - Register to join this call if you are an eligible hospital or CAH who wants to learn more about the attestation process for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.
• Thursday, May 5, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. ET- Register to join this call if you are an EP who wants to learn more about the attestation process for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.

What the Calls Will Cover

• Path to Payment – Highlighting the steps you need to take to receive your incentive payment
• Walkthrough of the Attestation Process – Guiding you through CMS' web-based attestation system
• Troubleshooting – Helping you successfully attest through CMS' system
• Helpful Resources – Reviewing CMS' resources available on the EHR website
• Q&A – Answering your questions about the attestation process

Instructions on How to Register for a Call
To register for these calls, take the following steps:

1. Visit either:

• The registration site for the Tuesday, May 3 eligible hospital and CAH call. Registration closes Monday, May 2 , 2:00 p.m. ET.
• The registration site for the Thursday, May 5 EP call. Registration closes Wednesday, May 4, 1:30 p.m. ET.

1. Fill in all required information and click "Register."
2. You will be taken to the "Thank you for registering" page and will receive a confirmation email shortly thereafter. Please save this page in case your server blocks the confirmation email. (If you do not receive the confirmation email, check your spam/junk mail filter as it may have been directed there.)
3. If assistance for hearing impaired services is needed, please email medicare.ttt@palmettogba.com no later than three business days before the call.

Prior to each call, presentation materials will be available in the Upcoming Events section of the Spotlight Page on the CMS EHR website.

Registration closes when all available space has been filled, or 24 hours before each call; no exceptions will be made, so please register early.

Want more information about the EHR Incentive Programs?
Make sure to visit the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs.

Sixty-two Regional Extension Centers (RECs) across the nation are prepared to offer customized, on-the-ground assistance for eligible professionals and hospitals registering for the CMS EHR Incentive Programs. To locate an REC near you, visit http://www.healthit.gov/rec.

Published 28 April 2011 - 0 comments (View/Post Comments)   

According to the Pennsylvania eHealth Initiative, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP) received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in December on its State Medicaid Health Information Technology Plan (SMHP).  The SMHP describes the Department’s approach to implementing, administering, and overseeing key aspects of the Electronic Health Record Incentive program. OMAP anticipates that eligible professionals and hospitals will be able to apply for incentive payments starting in late spring 2011.

There will be a series of three webinars that will focus on different topics that will help to prepare providers to participate in the program.

Webinar Schedule

January 26, 2011 (11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) 

February 15, 2011 (11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.)

March 22, 2011 (11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.)

For more background information, information on the upcoming webinars, and other Medical Assistance EHR incentive program updates, please visit the Department’s website or send an email to RA-mahealthit@state.pa.us.

Published 26 January 2011 - 0 comments (View/Post Comments)   

Registration for the Medicare incentive program for meaningful use of electronic health records, as well as Medicaid MU programs in 11 states, started on January 3, 2011.

According to Health Data Management, hospitals and eligible professionals soon registering and completing a 90-day reporting period under the Medicare program could attest meaningful use in April and receive incentive checks in May. Early Medicaid attestation under a much simpler method for demonstrating meaningful use could result in checks being cut in January or February.

• Alaska
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Oklahoma
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas

Registration will open in February in California, Missouri and North Dakota. Other states on a rolling basis will launch their Medicaid meaningful use incentive programs during the spring and summer.

For the full article and timeline, please click here.

Published 03 January 2011 - 0 comments (View/Post Comments)   

CMS CIO Julie Boughn said on Nov. 5 the agency is in the final stages of testing electronic systems that will manage incentive payments for health care providers who participate in the federal government's "meaningful use" program, Government Health IT reports.

Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for incentive payments through Medicaid and Medicare.

Health care providers seeking to obtain the incentive payments will need to register through CMS' Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System, which is available from a CMS website. The electronic system allows the agency to track and validate health care providers and suppliers who participate in Medicare.

When health care providers are ready to demonstrate their compliance with the meaningful use requirements, they will need to complete CMS' attestation module. Boughn said the module will ask the health care providers to describe how they met the requirements and to submit some clinical quality measures, according to iHealthBeat.

CMS plans to open registration for the incentive program in early January 2011.

In April 2011, health care providers can begin completing the attestation module for meaningful use. Eligible health care providers are expected to start receiving incentive payments in May 2011.

According to Boughn, CMS plans to update its electronic registration and attestation systems over the next several years to align with forthcoming meaningful use standards.

Check out the original article here.

Published 11 November 2010 - 0 comments (View/Post Comments)