Hospitals eligible for incentive payments for meaningful use of electronic health records are more likely than ineligible hospitals to have at least a basic EHR system, meet Stage 1 criteria for meaningful use and exchange health information electronically, according to a study reported today in Health Affairs. Under the HITECH Act of 2009, acute-care and critical access hospitals are eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments; cancer and children’s hospitals are eligible for Medicaid incentive payments; and rehabilitation, long-term care and psychiatric hospitals are ineligible for both types of incentive payments. Although ineligible hospitals increased their use of at least a basic EHR system between 2009 and 2013, the gap in EHR adoption between eligible and ineligible hospitals is growing and could “undermine the ability to achieve policy goals of improved quality, lower costs and a more efficient health care system,” the authors said. To address this gap, they said the federal government could expand eligibility for incentive payments to ineligible hospitals, among other actions.

Related News Articles

Headline
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday released a safety notice announcing a software patch is available to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities in…
Headline
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI, Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center and the National Security Agency June 30 released a fact…
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services June 27 announced the rollout of a 6-year technology-enabled prior authorization program pilot. Through…
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today announced it has identified a fraud scheme targeting Medicare providers and suppliers. CMS said scammers…
Headline
The AHA June 16 responded to a request for information on the health technology ecosystem from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Assistant…
Headline
The Joint Commission June 11 announced a new partnership with the Coalition for Health AI to help accelerate the development and adoption of best practices and…