Understanding The HITECH Act

What you need to know about the HITECH Act of 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The primary mission of the HITECH Act is to encourage the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) through incentive payments to physicians.

According to the HITECH Act, physicians are eligible to receive up to $44,000 in incentive payments (per physician) from Medicare for demonstrating “meaningful use” of a certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. These payments start as quickly as 2011. As an added incentive, physicians reimbursed by Medicaid can receive up to approximately $65,000 starting in 2011 based on state-defined guidelines.

Despite regulations that continue to evolve, WorkSmart MD is confident that we can help you to meet the requirements for “meaningful use.” Not only are we taking a proactive approach, with our team regularly lending insights to and gaining information from decision-makers at HHS and in Congress, but our solution is also well-aligned with the framework established by policy-makers.

Improved outcomes

• Care Coordination (Electronically exchange information): Unlike most EHR offerings, OfficeEMR® is web-based, meaning that it already exchanges clinical information with dozens of labs, hospitals, providers, and payers across the country (including Medicare and Medicaid). We are well-positioned to meet and manage other interoperability requirements.
• Patient and family engagement: WorkSmart MD's integration with ReminderPro® helps practices meet these HHS priorities.

Advanced clinical processes

• Use of e-Prescribing: OfficeEMR® is Surescripts® certified for Prescription Benefit Eligibility, Formulary, and Reporting; Medication History (payer); Prescription Renewals (retail); and Prescription Routing for New Prescriptions (retail and mail-order).
• Closed Order Management: Because our EHR includes document management services, we make it easy for providers to create and send electronic orders from the encounter. Users can also track and close orders within the application for better follow-up and quality reporting.

Data Exchange

• Quality care and population management: ChartShareMD provides physicians with a mechanism for securely sharing and exchanging patient health records.

The HITECH Act is a great opportunity to stimulate adoption of EHR. We are here to help you navigate through the complex health care environment, maximize your revenue, and focus on patient care.

Presently, the New England Journal of Medicine reports that only 17% of physicians have select an EHR system and of those physicians, only 4% would meet the meaningful use guidelines as they have been outlined. The common denominator being a lack of support and guidance after "Go Live."

Stimulus Guarantee

At WorkSmart we believe that a guarantee is only as good as the people behind it. At the core of our service are our EHR Advisors working beside you so that you can step into EHR with confidence. By working together with your practice you will demonstrate meaningful use - our success depends on it.