More than half of providers have received incentive pay

More than half of all doctors and other eligible providers have received Medicare or Medicaid incentive payments for adopting or meaningfully using EHRs, according to an announcement made by Health & Human Services Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

HHS has met and exceeded its goal for 50 percent of doctor offices and 80 percent of eligible hospitals to have EHRs by the end of 2013.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey in 2012, the percent of physicians using an advanced EHR system was just 17 percent in 2008. Today, more than 50 percent of eligible professionals (mostly physicians) have demonstrated Meaningful Use and received an incentive payment. For hospitals, just 9 percent had adopted EHRs in 2008, but today, more than 80 percent have demonstrated meaningful use of EHRs.

“We have reached a tipping point in adoption of electronic health records,” said Sebelius. “More than half of eligible professionals and 80 percent of eligible hospitals have adopted these systems, which are critical to modernizing our healthcare system. Health IT helps providers better coordinate care, which can improve patients’ health and save money at the same time.”

As of the end of April 2013:

• More than 291,000 eligible professionals and over 3,800 eligible hospitals have received incentive payments from the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
• Approximately 80 percent of all eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals in the U.S. have received an incentive payment for adopting, implementing, upgrading or meaningfully using an EHR.
• More than half of physicians and other eligible professionals in the U.S. have received an incentive payment for adopting, implementing, upgrading or meaningfully using an EHR.