Have Regulators Underestimated Cost of EHR Systems?

A recent article of interest in Psychiatric News from May 2010.

Proposed federal regulations to implement a massive federal initiative aimed at convincing physicians to adopt digital patient record systems may prove “untenable” for many small-practice and solo-practice physicians, according to comprehensive reviews of the regulations submitted to the government by APA and other physician groups.

 Article continues...

Among the many concerns highlighted by the AMA letter was that federal regulators have underestimated the high cost to physician practices of EHR adoption and ongoing overall HIT system maintenance. Officials at CMS estimate that EHR system adoption or upgrades of existing systems to meet federal standards will cost on average about $54,000 per physician employee in a practice, while annual maintenance will cost an average of $10,000 per physician employee.

Once the regulations are finalized, the federal program will provide “incentive payments” of up to $44,000 over five years to physicians who show “meaningful use” of qualified EHR technology (Psychiatric News, March 20, 2009).

But both the federal cost estimates and proposed payments could be dwarfed by the true cost to physicians of HIT systems that would comply with all of the proposed regulations.

Of course, ICANotes EMR software for Psychiatry professionals can help with costs.  Click here to learn more about ICANotes EHR EMR software for Psychiatry, Psychology and other Mental Health professionals.

EHR Reimbursement Proposal Troubles Psychiatrists

Interesting article published in Psychiatric News earlier this year.

In December 2009 federal health regulators in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed regulations to implement the $19 billion physician and hospital reimbursement program created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (PL 111-5). The law provides “incentive payments” of up to $44,000 over five years to physicians who show “meaningful use” of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology (Psychiatric News, March 20, 2009).

The proposed CMS regulations list 25 areas of data that physicians must collect from their patients and record in the EHR systems to show meaningful use of them and thereby qualify for the federal funds.

However, psychiatrists who reviewed the proposed regulations are concerned that they require physicians to collect patient data focused on primary care treatment and not necessarily mental health care, such as charting changes in a range of vital signs.

 Read the full article here

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