True or false? The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide physician practices incentives for the purchase of an electronic medical record system.
False. The ARRA is, indeed, meant to foster health IT adoption. But the incentive money will directly address the use of EMRs, not the purchase of the systems.
Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, has until the end of the year to define “meaningful use,” which physicians will have to meet by 2011, when the incentives kick in.
Without a definition, those in the market for an EMR are left wondering if waiting might be the best option, while early adopters wonder if their systems can meet future standards.
So what’s a practice to do?
The experts’ answer: Don’t wait to buy or upgrade just for want of a definition. There are enough clues in the legislation to estimate the definition of “meaningful use.”
Experts say it will be easier on you, and your practice, to buy now and tweak later. “Time is your enemy,” said Mark Garsombke, an attorney with the Milwaukee law firm Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek. Waiting to buy could mean a delay in qualifying for incentives, he said. http://ping.fm/gDN8T