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The Medicare bill that Congress passed last month to reverse the planned 10.6-percent cut in physician fees also establishes the first-ever incentive plan to encourage physicians to adopt electronic prescribing technology. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act provides payments of up to 2 percent to physicians who use qualified e-prescribing systems in 2009 through 2013. It reduces payments by up to 2 percent for those who don't e-prescribe by 2012.
The timelines are:
Bonuses for e-prescribing
- 2009-2010 2 percent
- 2011-2012 1 percent
- 2013 0.5 percent
- 2014 and beyond None
Penalties for not e-prescribing
- 2012 1 percent
- 2013 1.5 percent
- 2014 and beyond 2 percent
To begin realizing these benefits as quickly as possible, TMA encourages members to visit www.GetRxConnected.com/TMA. There, physicians will find information and guidance on how to "Get Rx Connected" for e-prescribing. The resources found there are equally important for physicians who have not yet taken steps to acquire e-prescribing technology and for those who may already be using an electronic medical record or e-prescribing system, but have not yet established an electronic connection to pharmacies.
More than 150,000 physicians across the country use systems that can transmit prescriptions electronically, but many do not know it. A free E-Prescribing Readiness Report can confirm the ability of a practice's technology to transmit prescriptions in this way.
For more information about e-prescribing and the Get Rx Connected campaign, contact the TMA Health Information Technology Helpline at (800) 880-5720, or e-mail Health Information Technology.
In addition, American Medical News reported that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will drop e-prescribing use from the list of Physician Quality Reporting Initiatives (PQRI) measures. "The quality reporting program will run all of next year, and Congress boosted the possible bonus to 2 percent. So in 2009, physicians could receive the additional 2 percent for e-prescribing under the new Medicare law and another 2 percent for reporting quality measures under PQRI.”
Action, Aug. 18, 2008
Last Published: 11/14/2008 Print this page
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