The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 was signed into law on February 17, 2009 and includes the Health Information Technology Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. This legislation allocates $36 billion for the development, deployment and use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). 

ARRA and HITECH provide significant incentives for hospitals to use EHRs via an increase in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. According to an assessment by Forrester, hospitals can receive between $2 – 11 million in total by 2015. In a recent evaluation of the legislation published by PriceWaterhouseCooper’s Health Research Institute, an average 500-bed hospital could receive $6.1 million in incentives.

iMDsoft can support your efforts to receive incentive payments under the CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) EHR Incentive Program. Eligible hospitals and anesthesia professionals who meet CMS requirements can receive incentive payments for meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

iMDsoft expects to receive certification in Q1 of 2012 for multiple EHR modules required to receive incentive payments. In addition to providing certified EHR technology, iMDsoft will, where applicable, provide methods to gather data necessary for CMS documentation of Meaningful Use required to claim incentive payments.

MetaVision’s advanced capabilities, such as its decision support tools, enable compliance with Meaningful Use criteria. With extensive experience in complex integration, iMDsoft can help you weave together the infrastructure needed to qualify for reimbursements. For example, MetaVision can deliver data to reporting systems and can integrate other certified modules you may already have into the MetaVision user experience (ePrescribing, patient education, etc.).

The earliest date that hospitals can begin to receive government funds is during the government's fiscal year 2011. From fiscal year 2015, hospitals not engaged in meaningful use of a certified system will be subject to penalties in the form of reduced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

iMDsoft anticipates that the first phase of certification will include at least the following modules:

• 170.302(o)-(v) Security
• 170.302(f) Vital signs
• 170.306(c) Clinical decision support
• 170.306(b) Demographics
• 170.302(g) Smoking status

 iMDsoft plans to certify additional modules including:

• 170.306(h) Advance directives
• 170.302(h) Lab results
• 170.302(d) Medication list
• 170.302(c) Problem list
• 170.302(e) Allergy list
• 170.306(f) Exchange clinical information
• 170.306(d)1 and §170.306(d)2 Copy health information
• 170.306(e) Discharge instructions