Policy

According to the analytics arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), HIMSS Analytics, the number of hospitals adopting EHRs has increased steadily over the past year. The number of hospitals that have reached Stage 5 and 6 of HIMSS Analytics’ Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) has increased by more than 80 percent over the five most recent quarters for which data is available.

According to officials at CMS, December was the single largest monthly payout of EHR incentives in the program’s history. Roughly $1.2 billion went to eligible hospitals and eligible physicians in December, bringing the total estimated payout to $10.3 billion. The bulk of the payments went to EHs, who received $1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. EPs received $175 million in Medicare payments and $80 million in Medicaid payments.

On Jan. 14, the Chicago-based American Medical Association (AMA) submitted formal comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in response to the release of the Health IT Policy Committee’s proposal for Stage 3 of meaningful use under the HITECH Act.

Speranza Avram, the CEO of CalHIPSO, the largest of the 62 federally designated regional extension centers, has spent three years helping physicians in small groups to achieve meaningful use. Going forward, being able to continue to help providers beyond the end of this year will mean developing new models of sustainability.

In the wake of the so-called “fiscal cliff deal” that averted the effects of federal budget sequestration for two months when it was passed by Congress on Jan. 1 and signed by President Obama on Jan. 2, Blair Childs, senior vice president for public affairs at the Charlotte-based Premier health alliance, spoke with HCI Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland about the current policy and political situation on Capitol Hill. To paraphrase Bette Davis, healthcare providers need to expect a bumpy ride throughout 2013.