Electronic Health Records: Number and Characteristics of Providers Awarded Medicaid Incentive Payments for 2011, Updated December 13, 2012.

摘要

Widespread use of health information technology, such as electronic health records (EHR), has the potential to improve the quality of care patients receive and reduce health care costs. However, studies have estimated that as of 2009, 78 percent of office-based physicians and 91 percent of hospitals had not adopted EHRs. Among other things, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,2 provided funding for various activities intended to promote the adoption and meaningful use of certified EHR technology. The largest of these activities, in terms of potential federal expenditures, are the Medicare and Medicaid EHR programs. Starting in 2011, these programs have provided incentive payments for certain providers, including both hospitals and health care professionals such as physicians and dentists that demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology and meet other program requirements established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that from 2011 through 2019, spending for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR programs will total $30 billion, with spending for the Medicaid EHR program accounting for more than a third--$12.4 billion. This report focuses on the Medicaid EHR program.