According to data released by the American Academy of Family Physicians, 20% of physicians who attested to Meaningful Use in 2011 failed to attest in 2012.
With a decline in incentive payments coinciding with increasing difficulty in achieving objectives as you progress through the program, it may be tempting to join the 20%. But frankly, it’s a bad idea. This would be like leaving money up for grabs that were meant just for you.
The key to participating successfully in the EHR incentive program is simplifying Meaningful Use as much as possible. Following the four techniques below will help ease the burden of Meaningful Use and keep the incentive payments coming your way.
Purchase an EHR with Meaningful Use Reporting Capability
CMS clearly outlines the core and menu objectives needed to achieve Meaningful Use for both Stage 1 and Stage 2. But although your practice should know what to aim for, it’s still difficult to maintain the pace necessary to achieve these objectives.
Therefore, you need an EHR equipped with real-time Meaningful Use reporting capability. Your EHR should make it easy to pull reports indicating whether your practice is on track to meet the necessary objectives. This allows you to allocate your resources accordingly.
Data should be pulled at least once a month, so you don’t discover that you’ve fallen behind on a particular objective at the last minute.
Appoint an EHR Champion
Because they are so occupied treating patients, it’s often difficult for physicians to be on top of Meaningful Use attestation. To combat this, we recommend appointing a trusted staff member to serve as your practice’s designated EHR champion. This person will be in charge of driving successful EHR implementation.
It may help to offer your EHR champion an incentive to ensure their commitment. Promise a $500 bonus each year you receive a Meaningful Use incentive payment. Even with such a hefty bonus, you’ll come out far ahead by bringing in tens of thousands of dollars in payments.
Take Advantage of Regional Extension Centers
The ONC has funded 62 RECs with the purpose of helping providers effectively adopt and use EHRs. According to the ONC website, RECs focus on individual and small practices in addition to those lacking the resources needed to implement and maintain an EHR. If any of these describe your situation, take advantage of REC’s federal expertise.
These helpful centers are located all around the nation, so there is likely one near you. As of now, they seem to be doing an effective job at helping providers meaningfully use EHRs. According to a 2012 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Medicare providers working with an REC are 2.3 times more likely to receive an EHR payment than those who don’t.
Map Out Meaningful Use Deadlines
In a July presentation, Robert Anthony, CMS’s Deputy Director of Health IT Initiatives, stated that about a third of physicians who failed to re-attest for Meaningful Use simply missed the registration deadline. It’s unfortunate so many physicians missed out on an incentive payment for such a trivial reason.
This timeline from CMS includes the Meaningful Use reporting periods and registration dates for 2013 and 2014. Whoever is in charge of Meaningful Use attestation at your practice should stay on top of these deadlines and ramp up efforts as deadlines draw near.
Dropping out the Meaningful Use program is equivalent to just throwing money out the window. While attestation can be an inconvenience, it doesn’t have to prevent you from participating. Use these four methods to make for smooth sailing toward your incentive payments.
