Medicare pilot project to pay more to doctors who use EMRs

The physician community is waiting for important program details before it can embrace the initiative.

By Dave Hansen, AMNews staff. Nov. 26, 2007.

Washington -- Physician groups reacted with cautious optimism to a new government pilot project that will give higher Medicare payments to doctors who adopt electronic medical records.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it wants 1,200 physician practices to participate. It will begin recruitment next summer, giving priority to small- and medium-sized practices. The agency has not determined how it will choose the practices. It also has not calculated how large the incentive payments will be. CMS will determine how much savings the program will generate and then calibrate payouts so the project ends up budget-neutral.

The American Academy of Family Physicians supports any activities to make it easier for physicians to adopt EMRs, said Jason Mitchell, MD, assistant director of the organization's Center for Health Information Technology. But the program's details must be worked out before the academy can get excited about it, he said. Dr. Mitchell estimated that 20,000 to 25,000 AAFP members use EMRs.

The American Medical Association declined to comment on the program but emphasized the financial challenges health information technology poses for physician practices. While HIT will save money for the health care system, only 11% of the return on investment will go to physicians, who are expected to pay for it, according to the AMA.

The AMA strongly urges Congress to consider financial help, such as grants, loans, increased reimbursement for HIT use and tax credits for doctors purchasing the technology.