Dispelling myths about EHR and up-to $44,000 ARRA incentive

As you likely know, 2011 was the first pay-out year for doctors choosing to implement EHR (electronic health records) and choosing to take advantage of up to $44,000 in ARRA incentives. Over $2 billion has already been paid to providers and hospitals for achieving meaningful use in 2011. That includes chiropractors.

I've been fortunate to be involved in the entire process, including interacting and meeting at HHS with many of the decision- and policymakers in Washington, D.C., regarding adoption of EHR and technology's connection to it.

Unfortunately, there is still a great deal of misinformation out there about the incentive and EHR in general.

Following is a list of the greatest myths I've encountered ... and the truth behind them:

MYTH: Chiropractors are not eligible for the up-to-$44,000 incentive for implementing certified EHR software.

FACT: The government uses the definition of "physician" from the Social Security code, which includes chiropractic physicians. Thus, doctors of chiropractic are eligible to receive reimbursement for implementing EHR, as long as they meet the other established guidelines.

In fact, hundreds of Future Health DCs have already gone through the processes of implementation and attestation—in addition to our Meaningful Use Workshops—and have received their 2011 payments.

You can still receive the full incentive by starting in 2012 and performing meaningful use for just 90 days in your first year.

MYTH: Any electronic system will qualify me for reimbursement.

FACT: Only CERTIFIED EHRs that are used in a meaningful way will be considered for incentive payments.

It's important to note that there are two distinct classifications of Certified software: Modular and Complete.

EHR with Complete Certification—like Future Health eConnect and CVOS—can help you qualify for up to $44,000 using just that software. Future Health eConnect and CVOS received Complete Certification July 21, 2011.

Other EHR software with Modular certification requires you to find complementary software to piece together with the modularly certified software in order to be eligible.

MYTH: If I choose not to implement EHR in my clinic, nothing will happen to me.

FACT: Beginning in 2015, penalties will be assessed to doctors who choose to not transition to electronic health records. The penalties will be in the form of Medicare reimbursement payment reductions.

MYTH: I will only get reimbursed for the amount I spend on my EHR software.

FACT: The incentive payment amounts have been set by the federal government and have nothing to do with how much you spend on your EHR.

The government wants to motivate doctors to implement an EHR as soon as possible, and has created a strong financial incentive plan to move the process forward swiftly. The sooner doctors implement, the more incentive payments they can receive. The chart included with this column shows that incentive payments may be as high as $44,000, a substantially higher benefit than the average cost to implement a system.

Here's how the payments break out –



The government recognizes that there are hardware costs, training costs and possible revenue

loss during the initial conversion to your new system, and those costs have accounted for those costs in the $44,000 incentive payments.

MYTH: Individual doctors do not receive incentive payments for implementing EHR, but rather the clinic.

FACT: The incentive payments program has been set up to benefit individual eligible providers specifically. This means that several DCs who practice in the same clinic can each qualify for incentive payments, as long as all the individual doctors are using a qualified system meaningfully, according to the incentive payments requirements.

MYTH: Now that the government is incenting all eligible providers to adopt EHR, the government will be able to dictate how we deliver care.

FACT: Nowhere in any of the legislation does it indicate that the government will impose on the methods of delivery of patient care. Rather, an agency called the Office of the National Coordinator of Healthcare Information Technology (ONCHIT) was established in 2004 to facilitate the implementation of EHRs across healthcare entities.

The office is only given authority to organize the implementation process, and is not charged with overseeing actual delivery of care and how you treat patients.

There's still time to take advantage of the full $44,000.00 incentive

The government decided earlier this year that eligible providers—including DCs—could still qualify for the full $44,000 incentive if they implement a Certified EHR in 2012 and demonstrate 90 consecutive days of meaningful use.

That means there's still time to take advantage of this incentive for doing something many of us know we should be doing anyway.

For detailed information about the EHR/ARRA Incentive, sign up for a free, no-obligation webinar now atwww.FHeConnect.com.

About Steven J. Kraus, DC, DIBCN, CCSP, FASA, FICC

Steven J. Kraus, DC, DIBCN, CCSP, FASA, FICC, is founder and CEO of Future Health - the nation's #1 provider of chiropractic-specific EHR/practice management software. Future Health software is ONC-ATCB Certified as a Complete EHR, helping you qualify for up to $44,000.00 in EHR/ARRA incentives. Sign up for a free software demo and ARRA update now at www.FHeConnect.com or call Toll Free 1-888-919-9919, ext. 656.

Dr. Kraus is an acknowledged expert in Health IT, including EHR (electronic health records) and the up-to-$44,000 ARRA incentive program to implement EHR.

He has served and continues to serve on numerous committees and boards, including:

• Electronic Health Records Committee for the ACA

• Past President of Iowa Chiropractic Society

• Past Chairman and Board Member of the Iowa Board of Chiropractic Examiners

Dr. Kraus frequently travels to Washington D.C. to represent the chiropractic profession, helping ensure DCs are considered in healthcare discussions and policymaking.

He is also an expert on practice management, with more than 23 years' experience in his own practice. He has developed and sold 18 practices and has provided strategic consulting to more than 400 healthcare businesses nationwide. He lectures to state associations and at industry events regarding EHR and the relationship to documentation, and he presents monthly webinars on how EHR usage will impact doctors of chiropractic.

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