Achieve HIT

source: http://sites.mckesson.com/doctors

The Economic Stimulus Legislation

The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides significant incentives for physicians and other providers to adopt electronic health records (EHRs). The ARRA health information technology (HIT) funding in the economic stimulus package is designed to accelerate EHR use and reduce cost by improving quality, safety, and efficiency. Physicians, hospitals and health systems can benefit from the incentives—whether through first-time deployment of EHRs or completion of existing health IT projects. In short:

• There are significant financial incentives for use of certified EHRs:
  • Up to $64,000 per physician
  • Approximately $2-8 million per hospital
• Funds become available:
  • Jan. 1, 2011 for office-based physicians
  • Oct. 1, 2010 for hospitals

Since the legislation became law, there’s been a flurry of activity including the naming of Kathleen Sebelius to head the Department of Health and Human Services and Dr. David Blumenthal as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. In addition, the federal Health IT Policy Committee Workgroup released its initial recommendations for defining “meaningful use” of EHRs in mid-June. Many industry experts—including key McKesson executives—provided their views on the initial definitions of meaningful use as well as requirements for EHR certification. Many steps remain before the final ruling on meaningful use, which is not expected until early 2010.

McKesson has been actively engaged in the EHR discussion and will continue to participate in discussions with the Obama Administration, members of Congress and their staff. We are committed to representing our customers’ interests and completing the upgrades and implementations necessary to help our customers ensure readiness during the timeframe that stimulus incentives are available.

McKesson’s Offerings For Physician Practices

McKesson has a wide range of solutions to support independent physician practices. They include EHRs, practice management solutions, healthcare consulting, support and outsourcing services. We also offer medical billing and medical-surgical supplies. Our comprehensive portfolio is designed to help physicians meet the needs of running a modern practice.