E-Rx can be good first step toward Medicare bonuses
May 25, 2011Optometrists, in many cases, may best be able to maximize Medicare incentive program bonuses – and avoid potential penalties – by first participating in the Medicare e-Prescribing Incentive Program, then transitioning to the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) program, according to Philip Gross, O.D., the chair of the AOA Health Information Technology Subcommittee.
While Medicare EHR incentives (up to $44,000 over the five-year life of the program in most areas of the country) are far greater than Medicare e-prescribing incentives (up to 1 percent of total Medicare allowed charges for the year), complete EHR systems are far more expensive than stand-alone e-prescribing programs and the utilization targets that must be met to earn incentives are far more extensive, Dr. Gross noted.
“E-prescribing programs can be obtained free-of-charge or at relatively minimal cost. They are relatively simple to install and use. Optometrists who do not plan to implement complete electronic health records programs and qualify for bonuses under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program during 2011 should certainly plan to prescribe pharmaceuticals electronically and qualify for the Medicare e-Prescribing Incentive Program this year.
“In many cases optometrists may find it a good strategy to aim for the 1 percent e-prescribing bonus in 2011 and then attempt to earn the more substantial EHR bonus beginning in 2012,” Dr. Gross said. Although optometrists will not be subject to the Medicare e-prescribing penalty in 2012, they could avoid penalties in subsequent years by starting e-prescribing now, Dr. Gross noted.
The National e-Prescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) makes secure, easy-to-use e-prescribing software available to all physicians and medication prescribers in America free of charge (www.nationalerx.com).
Practitioners can also purchase stand-alone e-prescribing software programs, certified for use with the Surescripts network, from 44 vendors listed on the network’s Web site (www.surescripts.com/connect-to-surescripts).
Participation in the Medicare e-prescribing program requires “true” e-prescribing systems that provide two-way electronic communications between prescriber and pharmacy – as opposed to the fax systems used in many practices, Dr. Gross emphasized.
Because e-prescribing is among the core electronic health records functions that practitioners must implement in order to qualify for Medicare EHR bonuses, e-prescribing now will essentially give optometrists a “head start” in adopting EHR technology, Dr. Gross noted.
“The AOA recommends members have a plan for e-prescribing and should look into ways to do e-Rx in 2011 even if they are implementing EHRs in 2012 or 2013,” Dr. Gross said.
“EHRs certified for the Medicare incentive program must include an e-Rx function, so doctors planning to implement electronic health records should plan on eventually using their EHRs for e-prescribing,” Dr. Gross emphasized. “For that reason, optometrists probably should not spend money or a lot of time implementing e-Rx if they are going to buy a certified EHR in the next year. However, they should be considering e-prescribing as an incremental step. Thanks to NEPSI, it can be a very practical step to take.”
Additional information e-prescribing resources, including an interactive Electronic Prescribing Readiness Assessment and information on NEPSI software, can be found under the “e-Prescribing” tab on the AOA Web site’s EHR page (www.aoa.org/EHR).
