Implementing electronic medical records has become a race. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the enforcer here, and pretty much as everyone expected, medical practices are nowhere close to meeting the deadlines. There’s good money to be had in the form of reimbursements for implementing EMR systems, but just as they do every time innovation gets jammed through the system, practitioners don’t want to use it.
Now they’ll have to, and they’ll have to pay for it themselves.
Except there’s a momentary reprieve: HHS has made it easier to qualify for reimbursement, reducing 90 requirements to 44. And providers can wait as late as 2012 to begin implementing EMR and still have two years to reach the first level of compliance.
They’ll get less money, but it’ll be easier to get it. We’ll see how it plays out. Go to http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/350830/Feds_Lower_Bar_for_EHR_Funds for more info, including links to primary sources.