“HITECH for Physicians” Presentation at MedX12 in Louisville, Kentucky

October 9, 2009November 20, 2009 Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Meaningful Use, Physician EMR Stimulus, Privacy & Security linkedin

I will be giving a presentation on “HITECH for Physicians” on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, from 7:30 am to 9:00 am. The presentation will take place at MedX12 offices, Ormsby III, 10200 Forest Green Blvd. (just off of North Hurstbourne Lane) in Louisville, Kentucky. The presentation will focus on those aspects of the HITECH Act that provide stimulus payments to physicians to adopt and make a “meaningful use” of “certified” electronic health records. The HITECH Act employs a “carrot and stick” approach to the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) by giving stimulus payments for the adoption of EHRs and by reducing Medicare reimbursements to those who do not adopt EHRs by 2015.

This presentation will cover the HITECH Act’s basics tenets (interim final rules are not due out until year-end) and recent developments towards development of “meaningful use” and “certification” standards by the HHS Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. In addition, I will be highlighting compliance strategies for physician practices related to the HITECH Act’s new Data Breach Notification Rule and “Business Associate” obligations.

The presentation is being offered at no charge. A continental breakfast will be available. This presentation is open to anyone interested in the topic. Please RSVP by Friday, October 9, 2009. Contact Kim Farmer, at (502) 339-7175 ext. 240 or kfarmer@medx12.com.

HHS Letter to State Medicaid Directors Gives Guidance on HITECH’s Medicaid Incentives

September 10, 2009March 2, 2010 Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, State HIT Grants & Loans ARRA, eligible professional incentives for electronic medical records, HITECH Act, linkedin

On September 1, 2009, CMS issued a letter to State Medicaid Directors to provide initial guidance on state administration of the incentive payments for eligible Medicaid providers who adopt and become meaningful users of electronic health records. These incentives were authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), specifically section 4201 titled Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH). Under the ARRA, HHS is authorized to reimburse states 100% of the incentives paid to eligible providers, and 90% of the state’s planning and implementation expenses incurred to administer the Medicaid incentive program. The criteria that states must meet, as set forth in this initial guidance, illustrates that states should act promptly to engage in certain, significant planning activities in order to ensure that the ARRA Medicaid incentives can be made available in a timely manner to eligible Medicaid providers in the state.

CMS Website on ARRA’s Health Information Technology Includes Fact Sheet with FAQs

June 26, 2009September 15, 2009 Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Federal Law Resources, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus, Privacy & Security eligible professional incentives for electronic medical records, Federal Law Resources, Health Information Technology, HIT, HITECH Act, hospital incentives for EHRs

On June 16, 2009, on the same date the ONC HIT Policy Committee released the first draft of “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the CMS Health Information Technology Website to address health information technology (Health IT or HIT) under the ARRA’s Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). The CMS HIT website focuses on the following three areas of ARRA Health IT:

Health IT incentives and support for adoption
Establishment of Health IT standards and infrastructure
Privacy and security pertaining to Health IT

These are the three main areas pertaining to Health IT in which CMS will be involved under the HITECH Act.

ONCHIT Policy Committee Releases Draft Definition of Meaningful Use to Qualify for HITECH Act’s Medicare Incentives

June 17, 2009July 15, 2009 Kathie McDonald-McClure Eligible Professional Incentives, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Meaningful Use, State HIT Grants & Loans EHR, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, HITECH Act, HITECH implementation, Meaningful Use, ONCHIT

Article Summary: The Meaningful Use Workgroup of the Office of National Coordinator’s HIT Policy Committee presented its initial draft of “meaningful use” at the Committee’s June 16, 2009 HIT Policy Committee meeting. As the National Coordinator and Chair of the HIT Policy Committee, David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., reminded the meeting’s participants: “This is an initial draft, which has a long way to go.” Health reform clearly is a cornerstone of the Meaningful Use criteria. The Committee established five key Meaningful Use goals with criteria that will be stengthened every two years based on that year’s specific objective.