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.

In order for a hospital to receive incentive funding from the US government, it must demonstrate “meaningful use” of a “qualified system” within a specific timeline. Currently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are receiving feedback on the preliminary definition of “meaningful use”. A final definition is expected by Spring 2010. Nearly all observers expect that certification from the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) will be at least one way, but not the only way, of becoming certified as a “qualified system”.

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 (see timeline below).

We at iMDsoft^® are following the fast-changing criteria as they develop. We believe that once the final specifications have been determined, hospitals using MetaVision^® will be in a forward position to receive incentive funds.