AMA Weighs in on ‘Meaningful Use’ Requirements For E-Records

When we wrote about the response to the government’s final “meaningful use” requirements for electronic medical records, there was a notable absence: the American Medical Association.
(Yes, we know the majority of the country’s licensed docs don’t belong to the group, but it’s still influential, spending more than $20 million on lobbying last year, according to [...]

AMA presses for changes to electronic health record regulations

The American Medical Association on Wednesday said federal regulations governing the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) create barriers for some physicians to shift to paperless records.
The regulations were released last week. They determine how hospitals and physicians’ offices can become eligible for federal incentive [...]

Firms ready for health IT push

Technology companies are ramping up their health care businesses ahead of an expected influx of equipment orders from hospitals and doctors who want to start using electronic health records.
Now that the Obama administration has finalized the rules by which health care providers can be reimbursed for the [...]

Doctor touts benefits of electronic health records

WASHINGTON — The federal government will pay out billions in Medicare and Medicaid incentives to health care providers that begin using electronic medical records over the next decade, and a Hudson Valley doctor expressed support Tuesday for the reimbursements that will allow others in the nation to follow his lead.
At a House Ways and Means [...]

Subcommittee Pores Over Ramifications Of E-Record Rules

The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee examined HHS’ new electronic health records regulations Tuesday, with Democrats and Republicans alike asking why stricter regulations were not included in the final rule and pushing for multicampus hospitals to be eligible for individual grants.
Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark, D-Calif., called the final regulations “responsible,” but ranking member [...]

Ways and Means Members Challenge Administration Officials on Health IT

When federal officials released final rules on July 13 governing how medical providers should use electronic records, they scaled back some requirements in an earlier proposal. They said they wanted to strike a balance and create goals that were ambitious but also realistic.
But some House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Republicans made it clear in [...]

Administration Stands Firm On Multicampus Policy In EHR Rule As Lawmakers Complain

Administration officials reasserted Tuesday that multicampus hospitals would not receive multiple payments as an incentive for adopting electronic health records, and tried to assuage lawmakers’ concerns that CMS eased off on requirements for receiving EHR incentives by pledging to tighten the rules in future phases of the program. Stakeholders are closely watching how HHS officials [...]

How Will ‘Meaningful Use’ Factor Into Doctor and Hospital Rankings?

Would you be more likely to choose a medical provider that has embraced electronic medical records?
The first round of requirements for what constitutes “meaningful use” of digitized medical practices and procedures were released on Tuesday. By meeting the government’s benchmarks, medical practices and hospitals can qualify for [...]

eRx rate in NY state to see ‘explosive growth’

The electronic prescribing rate in upstate New York increased from 12 percent in 2009 to 17 percent in the first quarter of 2010, representing 3.6 million new and renewed prescriptions on an annual basis, according to a new report. The report suggests that this number will grow [...]

HHS releases digital records rules

The Obama administration’s release of long-awaited standards for digitizing medical records finally gave the green light to information technology companies that have been waiting to cash in on billions in stimulus dollars.
Between the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and health care reform legislation, about $27 [...]

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