The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is highlighting measures that will help healthcare providers to adopt and meaningfully use health information technology, the agency said.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), providers are already receiving incentive payments through both the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive programs for the meaningful use of certified EHR technology. On May 19, the Medicare EHR Incentive Program issued the first round of payments, totaling $75 million, to providers who signed up in the first two weeks of the program.
CMS has now also offered a proposed rule for the Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program that would provide financial incentives, including payment adjustments, beginning January 1, 2012, for eligible providers to encourage electronic prescribing.
The rule would provide exemptions from the payment adjustment for providers who plan to participate in the program but who face certain barriers to using electronic prescribing systems or meeting program requirements that may be beyond their control, according to CMS.
