HITECH EMR Stimulus Information for Physicians

What is HITECH?

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law a $789 billion economic stimulus package, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA. Included in ARRA legislation is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, also known as HITECH. HITECH allocates $19 billion to hospitals and physicians who demonstrate Meaningful Use of Electronic Medical Records.

HITECH also provides funds for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT, usually referred to as ONC). Originally founded in 2004, this office oversees health information technology (HIT) standards, implementation strategies and impact assessment. The ONC has set goals for “the utilization of an Electronic Health Record for each person in the United States by 2014” and the development of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure that allows for the electronic use and exchange of medical information.

What does HITECH mean to you?

Under HITECH, physicians can qualify for up to $44,000 in Medicare EHR incentives if they demonstrate Meaningful Use of a certified Electronic Medical Record system. In a practice with three eligible providers, the incentive would total $132,000 across five years. Practice Fusion participated in the public process by which Meaningful Use criteria were determined, and our EMR is guaranteed to be HHS certified.

The charts below show the timeline for Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive payouts under HITECH. As shown in the first table, an eligible provider who can demonstrate Meaningful Use of an EMR in 2011 would be eligible to receive $18,000 from Medicare for the first year and $44,000 total through 2015. Incentives for adoption are reduced after 2012. Physicians whose practices feature a high volume of Medicaid patients can qualify for up to $65,000 in incentives.

Beginning in 2015, physicians who elect not to use an EMR will be penalized, starting with a 1% Medicare fee reduction. Medical providers who do not adopt an EMR after 2017 will face a 3% Medicare fee reduction.

What are Regional Extension Centers

The HITECH Act also provides guidance and funding for establishing at least 70 regional extension centers (RECs) to help promote EMR adoption. Regional centers will offer "technical assistance, guidance, and information on best practices to support and accelerate health care providers' efforts to become meaningful users of Electronic Health Records." Regional extension centers are tasked to: "Specifically focus on helping providers select the highest-value option, defined as that which offers the greatest opportunity to achieve and maintain meaningful use of EMRs and improved quality of care at the most favorable cost of ownership and operation, including both the initial acquisition of the technology, cost of implementation, and ongoing maintenance and predictable needed upgrades over time." Learn more about the Regional Centers on the HHS Website.