Adopting electronic medical records: what do the new federal incentives mean to your individual physician practice?

Under President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal government is offering incentives to physicians to adopt electronic health records. The goal is to improve quality of care and constrain costs. Higher incentive payments are available for those physicians who act quickly to meet the government's standards. Physicians who practice in "health professional shortage areas" and who serve mainly Medicaid recipients may qualify for additional incentives. Although compliance is "voluntary, "physicians who have not met the standards by 2015 will face reductions in their Medicare reimbursements unless they can show a significant hardship. Physicians can get started by contacting hospitals with which they are affiliated and professional associations to find out what vendors are being used in their service area. Agreements for electronic health records should be reviewed carefully to ensure that physicians' interests are protected.