Jim Tate, Meaningful Use Expert

Clock is ticking on EHR Incentives

There is one intriguing question about EHR adoption that everyone from vendors to officials at CMS has been asking. When will providers start actually buying EHRs? The early adopters got on board years ago but when will the ‘middle class’ bite the bullet? The clock is ticking on the CMS EHR Incentives.

To receive maximum incentives from the Medicare program an eligible professional has until October 3, 2012 to begin meeting meaningful use requirements. That certainly turns up the heat. Lots of incentive checks have been received and more are coming all the time. That answers all the naysayers who preached that no incentives would ever be paid. Remember them? Wonder where they are now? I bet they are starting to perform due diligence on EHRs.

One sign I have been waiting on is evidence that the larger vendors are having to scramble to find staff. Somebody has to do all the implementaions once the sales people have come and gone. I happen to be browsing EHR vendor web sites today and saw that NextGen has fifteen pages of job openings. Allscripts has over 350 openings. Looks like someone is making a commitment to EHRs and the pipeline is filling up. It is about time.

Jim Tate is a nationally recognized expert on the CMS EHR Incentive Program, certified technology and meaningful use.