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COHIE - Central Ohio Health Information Exchange Monthly EHR & Meaningful Use Incentive Update


November 2011

MATT ESKER IIAs the momentum of Electronic Health Records (EHR) adoption continues to grow in central Ohio, so do the incentive payments received by providers.  As of October 31st, over $600,000 has been earned by our community physicians from Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs!

 

If you have not yet adopted an EHR system in your practice, or have not begun the Meaningful Use process with your existing EHR, this is likely a great motivation to get started.  It is also a great time to contact COHIE.  We have lots of experience helping practices 'get the ball rolling' and many find that the process is less difficult than they anticipated. 

Sincerely,

 

Matt Esker, Director
COHIE - Central Ohio Health Information Exchange

(614) 384-9174   [email protected]

IN THIS ISSUE
Medicaid EHR Incentive Program
Medicare EHR Incentive Program
HIE in central Ohio

Medicaid
EHR Incentive Program (MPIP)

Answers to Key Questions  

KeysAre you a medical provider (or employed by a provider) that will be applying for Ohio's Medicaid Provider Incentive Program (MPIP)?  Do you have questions about eligibility requirements or other key elements of the program? 

The following are some basic answers to common questions regarding the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.   

  • Am I eligible to receive the Medicaid EHR Incentives?  The answer is yes if you are a physician, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, dentist or physician assistant*. 
  • Is my Medicaid patient volume high enough to qualify?  Your Medicaid patient population must be 30% or higher (20% for Pediatricians) to qualify.  This includes Managed Medicaid patients. Many providers who initially assume they would not qualify learn they are eligible once they verify the rules.  Click here for the MPIP FAQ's on Medicaid patient encounters to learn more.
  • Is it too late to maximize my incentive payments?  No. In fact, the Medicaid providers can begin to participate in the incentive program any time from now to 2016 and still receive the maximum incentive of $63,750.  However, the sooner a provider begins, the sooner they can receive their payments!

*Click here for specific eligibility requirements for physician assistants. 

Have more specific questions?  Chances are COHIE can provide the answers.  Contact COHIE Director Matt Esker at (614) 384-9174.

Medicare

EHR Incentive Program

Answers to Key Questions

KeysBoth Medicare and Medicaid providers can receive incentive payments for adopting and reaching "Meaningful Use" of an EHR system in their practice.  However, there are some distinct differences between the programs. 

The following are some basic answers to common questions regarding the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.

Medicare EHR Incentive Program

  • Can I still qualify for Calendar Year 2011 Incentives?  Unfortunately, to qualify for 2011 incentives, you would need to have begun your 3-month Meaningful Use attestation period in October. 
  • If I didn't begin my Meaningful Use attestation in October 2011, can I still maximize my incentives?  Yes!  Even if you do not begin until 2012, you can you can still reach the maximum incentive of $44,000.

Learn additional key information about the incentive programs by visiting the COHIE website at www.cohie.org or contacting Matt Esker at (614) 384-9174.

"HIE" in central OHIO 

HIE imageCOHIE remains focused on achieving its goal of assisting at least 1,352 primary care providers adopt and implement electronic health records and achieve Stage 1 Meaningful Use through the Regional Extension Center program.  To date, COHIE has been widely successful in this initiative, and has achieved the largest number of primary care provider signups across the state of Ohio.   

  

Recently COHIE has expanded its focus on  efforts to establish a health information exchange (HIE) for the central Ohio community of providers and stakeholders.  The COHIE Board has formed an HIE subcommittee, comprised of representatives from Central Ohio Hospital Council, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Central Ohio Primary Care, Berger Health System, and Mount Carmel Health System, to undertake a vetting process to assist the Board with the selection of an HIE.  Currently, the subcommittee is analyzing and evaluating the value-added features of HIE solutions provided by CliniSync, a start-up HIE of the Ohio Health Information Partnership, and HealthBridge, an HIE founded in 1997 in southeastern Ohio, as well as discussing other options.  As the HIE subcommittee further refines this selection process, it is expected that both HIE vendors will provide follow-up information and presentations to COHIE's board of directors, as COHIE gets closer to establishing an HIE for the community. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ohio Health Information Partnership is funded through the Office of the National Coordinator, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, grant numbers 90RC0012 and 90HT0024