More Than 100,000 Health Providers Sign Up for Meaningful Use

As of the end of September, more than 100,000 hospitals and physicians had registered for the meaningful use incentive program, according to CMS, Government Health IT reports.

Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.

Of the total 114,644 registrants:

• 88,399 physicians and hospitals signed up for the Medicare incentive program;
• 24,030 physicians and hospitals signed up for the Medicaid incentive program; and
• 2,215 hospitals signed up for both incentive programs.

As of August, 90,000 health care providers had signed up for the meaningful use incentive program.

During the Health IT Policy Committee's meaningful use work group meeting on Tuesday, Robert Tagalicod -- director of CMS' Office of eHealth Standards and Services -- said that as of Sept. 30, CMS had doled out more than $850 million in meaningful use incentive payments, including $357.4 million under the Medicare program and $492.6 million under the Medicaid program.

Since April, 3,722 physicians and 158 hospitals have received Medicare incentive payments for successfully attesting to the meaningful use of EHRs, Government Health IT reports. Health care providers participating in the Medicaid program do not have to attest to meaningful use criteria in their first year in the program, but they receive payments for adopting, implementing or upgrading certified EHRs (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 10/5).

Read more: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2011/10/6/more-than-100000-health-providers-sign-up-for-meaningful-use.aspx#ixzz1a7R1KXh9