In August of 2006, President George W. Bush signed an executive order to promote the overall efficiency and quality of healthcare. The goal for this order was to increase information available among patients, medical providers, and insurance carriers; and to decrease medical errors. Meeting this goal would help control rising costs of healthcare for both the patient and insurance carriers. In 2011 an incentive program was established by the name of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program to encourage eligible professionals and eligible hospitals to adopt, implement, to upgrade, and demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records. "Meaningful Use" is a term describing documentation
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To qualify for the incentive payment 20 of the 25 objectives must be met, all 15 core objectives and 5 out of the 10 menu set objectives. If the 20 out of 25 objectives are met the eligible professional can receive up to $44,000 for 5 years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. There is also an additional incentive for professionals that provide services in a Healthcare Professional Shortage Area. Under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program eligible professionals can receive $63,750 during the 6 years that they choose to participate. For the first reporting year of this stage Eligible Providers must meet the requirements by having a continuing amount of data for 90 days. During every year that the eligible healthcare professional participates in the program they must demonstrate Meaningful Use of a certified electronic health record. To receive this incentive, the provider must document the percentage of visits, diagnoses, prescriptions, immunizations, and other pertinent health information electronically; use the EHR clinical support tools; share patient information; and report quality measures and public health information (Booth, K. A., Whicker, L. G., & Wyman, T. D. 2014). In addition to a financial incentive, other benefits of complying with Meaningful Use guidelines include a reduction in medical errors, improved availability of patient records and data, reminders and alerts, clinical decisions, and e-prescribing/refill automation (Aumula, N., & Sanelli, P. 2012, July
To qualify for the incentive payment 20 of the 25 objectives must be met, all 15 core objectives and 5 out of the 10 menu set objectives. If the 20 out of 25 objectives are met the eligible professional can receive up to $44,000 for 5 years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. There is also an additional incentive for professionals that provide services in a Healthcare Professional Shortage Area. Under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program eligible professionals can receive $63,750 during the 6 years that they choose to participate. For the first reporting year of this stage Eligible Providers must meet the requirements by having a continuing amount of data for 90 days. During every year that the eligible healthcare professional participates in the program they must demonstrate Meaningful Use of a certified electronic health record. To receive this incentive, the provider must document the percentage of visits, diagnoses, prescriptions, immunizations, and other pertinent health information electronically; use the EHR clinical support tools; share patient information; and report quality measures and public health information (Booth, K. A., Whicker, L. G., & Wyman, T. D. 2014). In addition to a financial incentive, other benefits of complying with Meaningful Use guidelines include a reduction in medical errors, improved availability of patient records and data, reminders and alerts, clinical decisions, and e-prescribing/refill automation (Aumula, N., & Sanelli, P. 2012, July