The number of hospitals using IT (information technology) over the last two years has more than doubled over the last 24 months, Kathleen Sebelius, US HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) Secretary announced today. Over 41,000 physicians and nearly 2,000 hospitals have been awarded $3.1 billion in payments aimed at encouraging them to use health IT more extensively, especially HER (electronic health records).

Sebelius said:

“Health IT is the foundation for a truly 21st century health system where we pay for the right care, not just more care. Health care professionals and hospitals are taking advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to begin using smarter, new technology that improves care and creates the jobs we need for an economy built to last.”

In 2009, 16% of American hospitals had adopted EHRs, compared to 35% in 2011, according to an American Hospital Association survey. 85% of hospitals in the USA say they will take advantage of Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs by 2015.

CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) informs that it paid out $3.12 in incentives to hospitals and doctors, as well as other providers of health – eligible awardees have to show that they have made or intend to make “meaningful use of EHRs” to improve patient care quality. Eligible health care providers received $519 million from CMS in January 2012 alone. An award can be as high as $63,750 through the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, and $44,000 under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.

The total number of health IT employees will have risen by about 20% by 2018, compared to 2008, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a much faster increase compared to other job sectors.

The current US administration provides financing to eligible doctors, hospitals and other health care professionals to make the transition from manual to EHRs through programs run by Medicare and Medicaid, thanks to the HITECH Act provisions of the 2009 Recovery Act. US health authorities have established a US-wide network of 62 Regional Extension Centers with experts available to help eligible health care providers adopt new IT systems successfully.

Four workforce training programs have been launched to make sure there are enough skilled IT health workers. The courses will be taught at 82 community colleges and nine universities. Over 9,000 community college students have been trained in health IT so far under this scheme, while a further 8,706 have enrolled.



Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs

Written by Christian Nordqvist