{"id":10857,"date":"2014-01-16T17:27:46","date_gmt":"2014-01-16T22:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poweryourpractice.com\/?p=10857"},"modified":"2025-07-01T11:57:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T11:57:03","slug":"dont-let-meaningful-use-scare-you-away-from-ehr-gains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carecloud.com\/continuum\/dont-let-meaningful-use-scare-you-away-from-ehr-gains\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Let Meaningful Use Scare You Away From EHR Gains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although CMS recently announced its intention to extend deadlines<\/a> for both Meaningful Use Stages 2 and 3, industry analysts expect the number of practices opting out of the EHR program to continue rising. It seems the financial burden of MU attestation is too much for physicians to carry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the penalty for not meeting Stage 2\u2019s stringent requirements is minimal in comparison to the initial investment required for successful attestation, many physicians are choosing to not move forward into the next phase of the program. Not to mention, the bulk of MU\u2019s incentive payments occur during Stage 1 \u2013 a goal many practices have already accomplished.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Abstaining from Meaningful Use may save practices money in the short run, but not realizing your electronic health record\u2019s full potential puts physicians at risk of missing out on substantial gains down the road.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ROI of EHR<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the key benefits of an\u00a0EHR\u00a0<\/a>is that it allows your practice to go paperless, helping your staff cut down on the amount of time it takes to rifle through patient records and other documentation. Transitioning to a paperless practice\u00a0can save thousands a year\u00a0in office supplies, transcription costs, and file storage space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clinical documentation is another key element of EHRs that lead to increased revenue. Because government insurance providers like Medicare require extensive documentation to dole out their reimbursements, many doctors only bill for services with written evidence. Unfortunately, this has been shown to eliminate up to 15%\u00a0of legitimate reimbursements\u00a0every year.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes, paper claims are also \u201cdowncoded\u201d to less expensive procedures because the payer considers the claim unnecessary or unsupported. This usually happens due to a lack of documentation. Using an\u00a0EHR\u00a0gives doctors the added value of documenting every aspect of a patient visit, and therefore increases the amount of claim revenue they\u2019re eligible for.<\/p>\n

Clinical EHR Benefits<\/strong><\/h2>\n

EHRs\u00a0can also boost profitability simply by saving physicians time during each clinical encounter. This allows them to see more patients a day. Two of the many common EHR features that improve physician efficiency include:<\/p>\n