Medicare Pushes for Electronic Records

Yesterday,The federal government’s top official for Medicare and Medicaid administration encouraged area medical providers to participate in a federal program that will pay providers to adopt electronic medical records.

Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, spoke to area doctors and medical administrators about the pilot program.

During a five-year period, the government will give financial incentives ranging from $58,000 per doctor to $290,000 per practice to adopt government-certified medical records software.
Medical practices will compete for the money through a proposals process, and 12 communities will be chosen for the demonstration project.

“We are looking for communities like Sioux Falls that have a strong base of primary care physicians and are willing to assist us in educating and recruiting local physician practices for the demonstration,” Weems said.

President Bush has set a goal to have most Americans have access to a secure and interoperable electronic health record by 2014. The government contends electronic medical records will reduce costs and increase quality of care.