New York City offers doctors discounted EMRs

The new program is designed to help doctors serving low-income populations, but the program isn't free.

By Doug Trapp, AMNews staff. May 14, 2007.

Washington -- New York City is offering 1,000 physicians discounted electronic medical records software and support in an attempt to improve the health outcomes of the city's most vulnerable.

Doctors qualify for the Primary Care Information Project if at least 30% of their patients are enrolled in state-funded insurance programs, such as Medicaid. Physicians also qualify if their practices are in one of three low-income neighborhoods.

The initiative is funded with $27 million from the city and $3 million from the state. It's designed to bring EMRs to patients who might not otherwise benefit from them. Another aim is to address major public health issues, said Farzad Mostashari, MD, MSPH, assistant commissioner in the Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene and a nonpracticing internist. "Those two aspects are guiding principles for us," he said.

The program is exclusively offering eClinicalWorks software and two years of technical support. This normally would cost at least $12,000 per physician, said Heather Caouette, spokeswoman for the company, headquartered in Westborough, Mass.

But the package is not free. Physicians must contribute $4,000 to help pay for a city-organized office workflow assessment as a commitment to the program. Doctors also must provide hardware and high-speed Internet connection needed to run the system.