Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Update
Several factors have influenced LCMH's decision to transition from paper to electronic health records (EHR).
Most of these factors have emerged from federal requirements.
The purpose of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 was to encourage the
adoption of EHR and infuse stimulus dollars into the healthcare sector. Part of the ARRA is the Health
Information Technology (HITECH) Act which requires that providers electronically submit data on clinical
quality to the federal government.
Additionally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final rule of minimum
requirements (Meaningful Use) needed to qualify for incentive payments. The Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology issued the standards and certification criteria to ensure
systems perform the required functions.
Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments ar available to Critical Access Hospitals who demonstrate
Meaningful Use of EHR technology. Likewise, there are payment penalties for those who are not certified
meaningful users by 2015.
LCMH has begun an accelerated implementation schedule in order to reach these federally mandated
levels. We are making every effort to complete this process in a timely manner in order to receive incentive
payments and prevent revenue loss from payment penalties.
The first step in this process has been at our Rural Health Clinic. February 27, 2012 was the 'Go-Live' date
which culminated the installation of our applications for the Medical Practice - Electronic Medical Record
system. Point of Care and ChartLink now operational. We continue to install other modules hospital wide
with a projected completion date of early 2014. |
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