WASHINGTON  –  Healthcare professionals who had signed an agreement to receive technical assistance from a Regional Extension Center were more than twice as likely to have been awarded an incentive payment for achieving meaningful use, according to a new GAO report, that slices and dices who received how much, when and where.

REC officials were not surprised by the findings regarding REC participation. They already knew physicians working with RECs had an advantage.

“The GAO’s findings reinforce what we already know  –  in working with RECs, clinicians of all sorts can decrease the barriers to adopting and implementing EHRs,” said Susan Brown, director of the Telligen Iowa Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center. “We provide unbiased support in translating complex health information technology issues into practical solutions that fit a provider’s unique circumstances.”

“EHRs are vital as our country studies to find concrete and tangible ways to ensure efficiency in care, cost considerate thinking in care and foremost quality of care of the patient,” said David Heine, MD, of The Family Care Clinic in Decorah, Iowa. “This should be important to each one of us as citizens, as it will also have a profound impact on costs of healthcare in the future.”

“I’m pleased to see the GAO confirm what providers across Louisiana have already told us  –  that working with the LHIT Resource Center makes them more successful in achieving meaningful use, and makes meaningful use easier to accomplish,” says Nadine Robin, health information technology program manager for the Quality Forum.  “We work side-by-side with providers to help them complete the requirements for receiving incentive payments.  Our experience navigating the incentive requirements and assisting with EHRadoption with over 1,400 providers gives our providers a huge advantage.”

The incentive program awarded 761 hospitals and 56,585 professionals a total of approximately $2.3 billion for 2011  –  $1.3 billion to hospitals and $1 billion to eligible professionals, GAO finds. The 761 hospitals represent 16 percent of the estimated 4,855 eligible hospitals. The amount awarded to hospitals ranged from $22,300 to $4.4 million. The median payment was $1.7 million.

Why did GAO break down the ins and outs of the program? Because the HITECH Act requires the GAO to report, among other things, the impact of its provisions on adoption of EHRs by providers.

Eligible professionals

The 56,585 professionals who were awarded a Medicare EHR incentive payment for 2011 represented about 9 percent of the estimated 600,172 professionals eligible for the program, and were awarded a total of about $967 million in incentive payments.

Among professionals awarded an incentive payment for 2011, GAO found:

• The largest proportion (32 percent) were located in the South, and the lowest proportion (17 percent) were located in the West.

• A significant majority (89 percent) were in urban areas.

• Half (50 percent) were specialty practice physicians and over one-third (38 percent) were general practice physicians.

• Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) did not previously participate in CMS’s incentive program for electronic prescribing.

• About half were in the top third in terms of 2010 Medicare Part B charges (46 percent) and 2010 Medicare Part B patient encounters (51 percent).

Professionals with certain characteristics were more likely to have been awarded a Medicare EHR incentive payment for 2011.

For example, general practice physicians were 1.8 times more likely than specialty practice physicians to have been awarded an incentive payment. Professionals who had previously participated in CMS’s electronic prescribing program were almost four times more likely to have been awarded an incentive payment than those who had not participated in the electronic prescribing program. Professionals in the top third in terms of 2010 Medicare Part B charges or number of 2010 Medicare Part B encounters were more than three times more likely to have been awarded an incentive payment compared to those in the bottom third for charges or number of encounters.

Hospital characteristics

Among hospitals awarded an incentive payment for 2011, GAO found:

• About 61 percent of hospitals accounted for about 80 percent of the total amount of incentive payments awarded to hospitals.

• The largest proportion (44 percent) were located in the South, and the lowest proportion (12 percent) were located in the Northeast.

• About two-thirds (67 percent) were in urban areas.

• More than four-fifths (86 percent) were acute care hospitals.

• Almost half (46 percent) were in the top third of hospitals in terms of number of beds.

Hospitals with certain characteristics were more likely to have been awarded an incentive payment. For example, acute care hospitals were more than two times more likely than critical access hospitals to have been awarded an incentive payment. Hospitals in the top third in terms of numbers of beds were 2.4 times more likely than hospitals in the bottom third to have been awarded an incentive payment. Further, nonprofit and for-profit hospitals were 1.1 and 1.5 times more likely than government-owned hospitals, respectively, to have been awarded an incentive payment.

September 12, 2012 | Bernie Monegain, Editor

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