Today I got a good question from Gene about whether anyone has gotten a check for the adoption of EMR yet. You can see the full question and my answer below. Also, be sure to check out the other EMR Stimulus Question and Answers I’ve done.
Has any doctor actually received any money from the government regarding the use/adoption of an EMR? OR does this not come until 2013
Short Answer: No
Longer answer: Medicaid is getting close to cutting the first checks. Medicare takes 90 days of meaningful use, so the first checks won’t be cut until after the first quarter of 2011. So, we won’t have to wait until 2013, but the EMR stimulus has taken a while to be put in place.
I guess this wasn’t one of the “shovel ready” ARRA projects that we heard all about.
No… it was shovel ready.
I get it. I didn’t realize that this IS what they meant my shovel ready;-) Ugh!
EMR Stimulus Question and Answer: Has Anyone Gotten Paid Yet?”
The answer is No.
A physician participating in the HIT Incentive Program is required to register with CMS for Medicare incentives as well as their respective state for Medicaid incentives. CMS registration is scheduled to go live in January. No one will receive stimulus payments until they have completed their registration (CMS and/or State) and attestation for Meaningful Use. The first incentive payments could be paid as early as May 2011 – as there is a required 90 day reporting period for Stage 1 Meaningful Use.
For what it is worth, I think the Meaningful Use program may have been one of the best at stimulating spending over the last two years – the software companies have enjoyed significant growth, the jobs at software campanies have increased dramatically, the consulting firms are hopping and EMR techs/IT techs are in great demand at clinics and medical facilites all over the country. Just look at the growth in your business since the stimulus was announced. Perhaps physicians have not personally received benefit but they have certainly created economic activity as a result of the Stimulus. And if all goes accordinng to plan, they will receive a big chunk next year (which will largely be used to pay off the investments they made this past year.)
Eldrina,
May 2011 is going to be a fun month!! I wonder who will send me a picture of themselves with an EMR stimulus check? I’d definitely post that.
Mary,
There’s no doubt that the EMR stimulus program has stimulated some job creation. I half jokingly tell people that the EMR stimulus program worked for me. It stimulated this website to go from 1000 pageviews a day to now 5-7k pageviews a day. Now it’s my full time job. So, I’m grateful for the stimulus.
I mentioned this to an EMR vendor I was talking to recently and he said, well yeah. We’ve hired a meaningful use consultant and a few more programmers to help us reach meaningful use.
Reminds me of my post long ago about the Big Winners of the EMR stimulus money. I’ll have to do a follow up post to that one and evaluate how I did in my predictions and what might have changed.