Wildflower International, Ltd. emphasizes that incentives available for reimbursement are tangible and being awarded to real EPs and EHs. However, there is much more work ahead and excessive amounts of money to be claimed. Wildflower is the only private company in NM that offers EHR and HIT adoption, implementation, and MU attestation services. Contact Wildflower today and learn how services offered will help practices/hospitals achieve their EHR goals which will ultimately lead to better patient care and improved healthcare services for all New Mexicans.
Call us here: 505-466-9111 ext. 111
Susana
Martinez Sidonie
Squier
Governor Secretary
January 23, 2012
NM Medicaid Issues $11.7 Million in Electronic
Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program Payments
Successful Response to Technology Aimed at
Improving Patient Care
Santa Fe, NM – Healthcare providers across the
state are finding something extra in their bank accounts as the New Mexico
Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program began issuing
incentive payments to individual practitioners and hospitals that successfully
attested to the adoption, implementation or upgrade (AIU) of certified EHR
technology. With the goal of improving the quality of patient care, hospitals
and health care professionals will use the technology to collect data and meet
meaningful use objectives and clinical measures established by the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Eleven hospitals and 178 eligible professionals
successfully attested to AIU of certified electronic health records technology,
resulting in a total of $11,704,136.62 in federal dollars being issued through
the New Mexico Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. In this first round of payments
through the end of December 2011, many eligible professionals opted to assign
their payments to their clinic or group practice. Payments were dispersed as
far north as Raton, Farmington and Taos, east to Santa Rosa, Clovis and
Portales, south to Hobbs and Las Cruces and west to Deming, Lordsburg and
Silver City, with Los Alamos, Espanola, Santa Fe and Albuquerque in between.
The EHR Incentive Program provides funding
support to certain Medicaid health professionals and hospitals for the adoption
and meaningful use of certified EHR technology. The money for the incentive
payments is provided by the federal government, but the program is administered
by the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD), Medical Assistance Division.
“We’ve had a phenomenal response to the
program,” said Julie Weinberg, HSD Medical Assistance Division Director.
“Another 500 eligible professionals and eligible hospitals are in the process
of registering, attesting, or having their eligibility information validated by
program staff. I’m pleased to see that Medicaid providers from all around the
state are taking advantage of the program.”
Incentives for eligible hospitals are calculated
through a formula created by CMS and are paid over a three year period for AIU
of certified EHR technology in program year one, and for meaningful use of the
technology in program years two and three.
As much as $300 million could eventually be
distributed to participating providers over the course of the program.
The New Mexico Medicaid EHR Incentive Program spans the years 2011
to 2021. Within that time frame, eligible professionals may be paid up to $63,750
over a six‐year period, with a first‐year incentive payment of $21,250 for the adoption, implementation, or
upgrade (AIU) of certified EHR technology and $8,500 in each of the subsequent program
years for the meaningful use of the technology.
“The New Mexico Medicaid EHR Incentive Program
is an integral part of state and federal efforts to improve the quality,
efficiency and safety of healthcare through the use of health information
technology and the exchange of information,” said Sidonie Squier, Human
Services Department Secretary, “while maintaining patient privacy and
security.”
“This program helps get the needed EHR
technology into the hands of our Medicaid health care professionals,” added
Squier.
Medicaid providers will use the technology to
capture data and meet meaningful use objectives and clinical quality measures
established by CMS with the goal of advancing clinical processes and improving
patient outcomes. Expected results include accurate and complete patient health
information, improved patient care coordination and active engagement by
patients in their own healthcare.
Two of the objectives for eligible professionals
are providing patients with an electronic copy of their health information,
including diagnostic test results, problem lists, medication lists, and
medication allergies; and providing clinical summaries for patients for each
office visit.
Eligible professionals for the program are
physicians, dentists, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, and certified
midwives. Also eligible are physician assistants practicing predominantly in
federally qualified health centers (FQHC) or rural health clinics (RHC) that
are led by a physician assistant. Eligible hospitals are acute care hospitals,
including critical access and cancer hospitals.
Health care professionals must meet certain
criteria to participate in the program, including minimum Medicaid patient
volume thresholds. The criteria vary for certain provider categories, such as
for hospitals and pediatricians.
Medicaid providers interested in registering for the EHR Incentive
Program should visit New Mexico’s EHR Incentive Program outreach page http://nm.arraincentive.com
For more information about the program, visit the HSD’s Medical
Assistance Division website
http://www.hsd.state.nm.us/mad/MedicaidEHRIncentiveProgram.html
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