Financial incentives and eligibility for Meaningful Use

Financial incentives and eligibility for Meaningful Use Through its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Health and Human Services will provide financial incentives to Meaningful Users through either its Medicare or Medicaid programs. Unlike hospitals, eligible professionals (EPs) can only participate in one of these incentive programs, but not both. Medicaid eligible professionals with 30% of their volume attributable to Medicaid (20% for pediatricians) can receive up to $63,750 over a six-year period. Medicare incentive recipients can receive up to $44,000 over a five-year period. ForMeaningful Users whose first payment year is 2011, Medicare incentive paymentscan be disbursed as early as May 2011 if all requirements are met (payments madein a lump sum). States will begin their Medicaid incentive programs on a rolling basis starting in 2011, subject to CMS approval of the state Medicaid HIT plans. Not all states had their Medicaid incentive programs operational by the start of 2011. Medicaid payments for the first year do not require meaningful use, just adoption, implementation or upgrade.

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Centricity Advance from GE Healthcare combines emr electronic medical record (EMR) technology, medical practice management tools and a patient portal into a single solution. Designed for the smaller medical practice and independent clinician, Centricity Advance is a web based EMR solution, providing a more affordable and flexible alternative to traditional EMR systems and client/server EMR solutions. Certified as a complete 2011/2012 EHR solution for Meaningful Use Stage 1, Centricity Advance can help practitioners demonstrate meaningful use of electronic medical software.