APMA News - October 2011 - (Page 26)

IT Consultant By James R. Christina, DPM Which EHR Program Should I Get? One of the most perplexing questions facing practitioners is how to choose the best electronic health record (EHR) program for their practices. Incentive programs could play a role in that decision. Medicare incentive programs allow eligible providers (podiatrists are classified as eligible providers) to earn up to $44,000 in incentive payments over a five-year time period for implementing an EHR program and using it in a “meaningful” way. Before we discuss selecting an EHR program, let’s first look at the facts about the Medicare program. The incentive payment program actually pays you 75 percent of your Medicare Part B Fee for Service payments up to a maximum defined for the year of the program in which you achieve meaningful use. (Successfully qualifying for meaningful use of an EHR is defined by Medicare and is based on various stages. Further explanation is available on the APMA website www.apma.org/EMREHRInformation.) You must use an Office of the National Coordinator-certified program to achieve meaningful use. The first year that you are successful in achieving meaningful use, the maximum payment is $18,000, so you will have to bill $24,000 to achieve the maximum bonus (75 percent of $24,000 = $18,000). The remaining payment maximums are detailed in this table: CY 2011 CY 2011 CY 2012 CY 2013 CY 2014 CY 2015 CY 2016 TOTAL $44,000 $18,000 $12,000 $8,000 $4,000 $2,000 $18,000 $12,000 $8,000 $4,000 $2,000 $44,000 $15,000 $12,000 $8,000 $4,000 $39,000 $12,000 $8,000 $4,000 $24,000 $0 $0 $0 CY 2012 CY 2013 CY 2014 CY 2015 and later likelihood they will not cover all the costs. If your only motivation is to receive these payments, both you and your staff will probably be unhappy with the decision to adopt an EHR. What an EHR program ultimately should do is improve your patient care and make your office more efficient and productive. These benefits will not happen overnight. Implementing the EHR program will take significant time and effort, and it will initially make you less efficient. This learning curve for you, the other doctors in your practice, and your staff is variable and may take six weeks, six months, or even a year. As you consider various products, make sure everyone has a chance to review them and is committed to the final decision to move forward with a particular program. Now let’s look at some important considerations as you evaluate EHR products. Server-based vs. Web-based In a server-based program, you purchase the software to run the program on a server that you purchase as well. You have all the information on your hardware so you always have access to it. It also means that you must perform backups and make sure the backups are kept in a secure location. You will have to load software updates into your program (think of updates that you get for your computer from Microsoft or Apple—same type of thing for your EHR program). A Web-based program does not require you to store anything at your office location. You log into your EHR program from a computer (or with some programs, from a tablet such as an iPad) with Internet access. Web-based programs offer some enhanced mobility (although you could contact your server remotely as well). Upgrades are done seamlessly, and backups are performed off-site. Usually, Web-based programs cost less because you have less hardware to purchase. The downside: You trust the company you select to do secure backups and ensure continual access to your patient records. You should ask if your data can be backed up to a source that you will always be able to access, even if the company goes out of business or if for some reason you discontinue use of the company’s product. Also, as you can see in the table, if you achieve meaningful use for the first time in either 2011 or 2012, you will have the opportunity to receive the entire $44,000 of incentive payments. So with regard to the incentive payments, you still have some time to make a decision regarding adoption of EHR into your practice. Now that we have briefly reviewed the incentive program, let’s make one thing clear: Incentive payments should not be the sole reason you choose to incorporate an EHR into your practice. While the incentive payments may assist with some of the costs associated with adopting an EHR program, in all 26 APMA News October 2011 Integration of Practice Management Module Seamless integration with your billing is essential. In most cases, you will need to replace your current billing program http://www.apma.org/yourpractice/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1363&navItemNumber=580

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - October 2011

APMA News - October 2011
President’s Message
Contents
ICD-10 in Practice: Coding for Fifth Metatarsal Injury
ICD-10 Benchmarks and Timeline
Team APMA Runs Away with the Show
Medical Mission to Costa Rica: Identifying Fungal Infections of the Foot
Federal Advocacy Forum
Resolutions Submissions
IT Consultant
Can They Really Do That?
Reimbursement
Members Who Know Media
Technofile
Young Voices
Small Business 101
APMAPAC Chair Report
APMA All Stars
In Short
Worthy of Note
Affiliates Corner
List of Affiliated Organizations
Insurance Advisor
New Members
Death Notices
Annual Scientific Meeting Registration Form
Annual Scientific Meeting Sponsors
APMAPAC Update
Development Update
Classified Advertising
Dates to Remember
Advertising Index
10 Questions

APMA News - October 2011