Meaningful Use Roadmap:
Three Steps to Your Incentive Payment

Obtaining your EHR payment is as easy as 1, 2, 3!


Step 1: Register with the government program that is right for you.

Both Medicare and Medicaid offer EHR incentive programs. These programs are mutually exclusive, meaning that if you participate in one, you may not participate in the other. However, if you qualify for both programs, you do have the option of switching programs during a reporting year.

You can register for either program here.

See the table below for an overview of the eligibility criteria for each program.

Medicare Medicaid
The following medical professionals are eligible for participation in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program:
  • Doctors of Medicine or Osteopathy
  • Doctors of Dental Surgery or Dental Medicine
  • Doctors of Podiatric Medicine
  • Doctors of Optometry
  • Chiropractors

Exceptions: Doctors who perform 90% or more of their services in hospital inpatient or emergency room services are not eligible. Also, doctors who participate in the Medicaid Incentive Program or the e-Prescribing Incentive Program may not participate in this program.

For more information, see this CMS press release.

The following medical professionals are eligible for participation in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program:
  • Physicians
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Certified Nurse-Midwives
  • Dentists
  • Physician Assistants in an FQHC or RHC led by a PA

Exceptions: Doctors who perform 90% or more of their services in hospital inpatient or emergency room services are not eligible. Also, doctors who participate in the Medicare Incentive Program may not also participate in this program.

For more information, see this CMS press release.


For an overview of the differences between the two programs, see the table below:

Medicare Medicaid
Run by the federal government. Registration opened in January 2011. Run by the states. See your state Medicaid agency for information.
Can receive up to $44,000 ($48,400 if in a Health Provider Shortage Area) over 5 years. Can receive up to $63,750 over 6 years.
Required to demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology every year to qualify for payment.

Can qualify for payment for adopting, implementing, upgrading or demonstrating meaningful use of certified EHR technology in first participation year. Required to demonstrate meaningful use in each subsequent year.

See your state Medicaid agency for information.

Table drawn from CMS press release.


Payment schedules for both programs have been published by the CMS:

MEDICARE PAYMENT SCHEDULE
Calendar Year
First CY for which the EP Receives an Incentive Payment
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015 and subsequent years
2011
$18,000
---
---
---
---
2012
$12,000
$18,000
---
---
---
2013
$8,000
$12,000
$15,000
---
---
2014
$4,000
$8,000
$12,000
$12,000
---
2015
$2,000
$4,000
$8,000
$8,000
$0
2016
---
$2,000
$4,000
$4,000
$0
TOTAL
$44,000
$44,000
$39,000
$24,000
$0

Schedule of payments drawn from a CMS press release, available here.


MEDICAID PAYMENT SCHEDULE
Calendar Year Qualify to receive first payment in:
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
2011 $21,250 - - - - -
2012 $8,500 $21,250 - - - -
2013 $8,500 $8,500 $21,250 - - -
2014 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $21,250 - -
2015 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $21,250 -
2016 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $21,250
2017 $0 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500
2018 $0 $0 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500
2019 $0 $0 $0 $8,500 $8,500 $8,500
2020 $0 $0 $0 $0 $8,500 $8,500
2021 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $8,500
TOTAL $63,750 $63,750 $63,750 $63,750 $63,750 $63,750

Schedule of payments drawn from a CMS press release, available here.


Step 2: Purchase Praxis EMR.

In order to receive your incentive payment, you must obtain Praxis v7


Step 3: Demonstrate meaningful use.

Under Medicare, it is not enough to simply adopt an EMR; for the government to issue payment, you must demonstrate meaningful use as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services. To do so:

  • You must meet 15 core requirements.
  • Additionally, from a list of optional quality requirements, you must choose those for your specialty.

COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF MEANINGFUL USE REQUIREMENTS  
Core Requirements  
Record patient demographics. Praxis
Record vital signs and chart changes. Praxis
Maintain up-to-date problem list of current and active diagnoses. Praxis
Maintain active medication list. Praxis
Maintain active medication allergy list. Praxis
Record smoking status. Praxis
Provide patients with clinical summaries for each office visit. Praxis
On request, provide patients with an electronic copy of their health information. Praxis
Generate and transmit permissible prescriptions electronically. Praxis
CPOE for medication orders. Praxis
Implement drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks. Praxis
Implement capability to electronically exchange key clinical information among providers and patient-authorized entities. Praxis
Implement one clinical decision support rule and ability to track compliance with rule. Praxis
Implement systems to protect privacy and security of patient data in the EHR. Praxis
Report clinical quality measures to CMS or states. Praxis


Optional Requirements  
Implement drug formulary checks. Praxis
Incorporate clinical laboratory test results into EHRs as structured data. Praxis
Generate lists of patients by specific conditions to use for quality improvement, reduction of disparities, research, or outreach. Praxis
Use EHR technology to identify patient-specific education resources and provide those to the patient as appropriate. Praxis
Perform medication reconciliation between care settings. Praxis
Provide summary of care record for patients referred or transitioned to another provider or setting. Praxis
Submit electronic immunization data to immunization registries or immunization information systems. Praxis
Submit electronic syndromic surveillance data to public health agencies. Praxis
Send reminders to patients (per patient preference) for preventive and follow-up care. Praxis
Provide patients with timely electronic access to their health information. Praxis

With Praxis EMR's template-free approach, Meaningful Use really is as easy as 1, 2, 3!


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