Making Sense of the Economic Stimulus and EMR Incentives

Join Todd Krieger, gloStream's Marketing and Communications Team Leader, for a discussion about the economic stimulus and the EMR incentives included in the law. Todd will cover the specific requirements for EMR use, the payment schedule for Medicare and Medicaid providers, and the requirements necessary for doctors to receive their stimulus funding.

Check out the webinar schedule on gloStream's website.

Economic Stimulus Brings Promise of EMRs to Doctors Nationwide

Practicing medicine for medical professionals in the paper-based practice is difficult. The costs of running a traditional medical practice are increasing rapidly, insurers are demanding ever more documentation and consumers have come to expect a high level of care. The average doctor, therefore, finds himself in a very difficult situation. Pressed to bring in additional revenue, he books more patients, even though the practice can barely keep up with their current patient load. The result is an office that rarely runs on schedule; is stressful for doctors, staff and patients alike; and is prone to medical errors and audits from insurance companies. Time is lost, money is wasted and there is virtually no peace-of-mind for the doctor business owner who must continually worry about the viability of the practice when he should be focused on patient care.

Contrast that with the practices which have invested in an EMR software application such as gloEMR. These practices are thriving, revenue generating endeavors where doctors are saving time and money and gaining peace of mind.

The Institute for Athletic Medicine in Auburn Hills, Michigan is a shining example of the power of gloStream’s Microsoft Office embedded application. Customized templates developed for the practice have eliminated the time consuming task of manually completing each patient’s chart, so that the doctors can spend their time focused on providing care, not taking notes. Surgical consent forms, patient education documents, along with every piece of patient data are available with a single click so the doctors are much more efficient and productive. Each physician has gained back an estimated two hours a day that can be spent as they wish – either treating patients or spending more time with their families. Most importantly, however, in less than three years, the system has paid for itself many times over and dictation costs, which once reached $30,000 yearly, have been completely eliminated.

Such a benefit is now in reach for more and more doctors, thanks to the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the ARRA. Signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, the new law offers more than $20 billion in incentives for doctors who implement electronic health record technology.

The Medicare incentive in the law provides $44,000 per medical professional and the Medicaid incentive offers up to $64,000 per professional. Beginning in 2011, this money will flow directly to eligible professionals who are “meaningful users” of “certified” EHR technology. It will come through Medicare and Medicaid in the form of direct checks and there are no aggregation points or intermediaries. Recipients also will have the opportunity to choose which EHRs they want for their practices.

To schedule a one on one conversation with a gloStream Economic Stimulus expert, contact us today at 1-866-573-3282 or click here now.