HHS has earmarked $150 million in funding for its new “National EHR Demonstration” project, to help physicians underwrite the costs of investing in EHR. Eligible physician practices will be willing to:
- Invest in and use an EHR system certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology
- Gather and report quality data to CMS
- Deliver high-quality health care to patients based on national standards
HHS Secretary Leavitt is anxious to add additional practices to the program:
“I have 12 flags I’m going to plant someplace in America, and with those flags come 100 smaller flags,” said Leavitt, referring to the 100 small- and medium-size physician practices he wants each of the communities designated as Chartered Value Exchanges to recruit to the EHR demonstration project.
Ultimately, up to 1,200 physician practices from various regions of the country — all affiliated with Chartered Value Exchange communities — will be chosen to participate in the pilot.
For more information on the program, see the AAFP’s coverage of the project.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Why is the pilot project only for FPs? Why limit the EMRs to CCHIT certified products only. It seems the CCHIT is opting to implement policies to limit the products used, and not to encourage HIT/EMR adoption. Seems like a conflict of interest.
Thanks for the question, Steven.
This new national EHR demonstration project is being funded by HHS/CMS not by the Certification Commission. The Certification Commission is a private, nonprofit organization that has received federal funding to support certification program development but CCHIT does not make policy or regulation. And the Commission will not be involved in any way in the selection of the demonstration project participants.
In Sec. Mike Leavitt’s (no relation to Mark Leavitt, CCHIT’s chair) recent speeches, he notes that CMS will choose 100 primary care practices in 12 communities to receive these increases in reimbursement because primary care is where most Americans get their health care. And the practices must be using CCHIT Certified® EHRs to encourage physicians to adopt EHRS that put them on the road to the use of interoperable healthcare information.
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