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Home > Medicare Monitor > Archives > 2008 > February > 20 > Entry
Leavitt: Wanna do a demo?
The expectation is that electronic records will reduce the number of medical errors and improve the quality of care. The project will be open to small- and medium-sized primary care practices.
“Communities have a tremendous opportunity to help transform health care delivery from the local level on up,” Leavitt said. “Broad adoption of interoperable electronic health records has the potential not only to improve the quality of care provided, but also to change the way medicine is practiced and delivered.”
So far, HHS and Medicare officials have met with community leaders in Atlanta, Ga.; Kansas City, Kan.; Cleveland, Ohio; Portland, Maine; and Providence, R.I.
Under the demo program, 1,200 doctors could earn up to $58,000 each over five years or $290,000 per practice. The money would come as incentive and bonus payments depending on how many standardized electronic record functions a practice used.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expects to select four communities this year and the remaining eight next year. Once the communities are selected, the agency will then begin working with the doctor groups to recruit them into the project.
“We are looking for communities which have strong ties to primary care physicians and are willing to assist CMS in education activities and the recruitment of physician practices for the demonstration,” said acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems.
According to the department, eligible communities will include those that:
- Demonstrate active community collaboration with a broad group of stakeholders, including providers and medical professional groups, consumers, health plans, and employers;
- Show private-sector support, with likely probability that similar programs will be implemented among employers or health plans in the region;
- Are geographically large enough to recruit a sufficient number of small- to medium-sized primary-care physician practices, of which 100 will be eligible for incentives and 100 will be control sites; and
- Are not already part of an existing CMS demonstration similar to the electronic records project.
Comments
By Darrell Pruitt
February 20, 2008 8:19 PM | Link to this
Does Michael Leavitt intend to include dentistry in his plans? I cannot seem to get an answer from anyone, including Leavitt himself.
In fact, my own American Dental Association is apparently lost on the issue. They are giving members no guidance at all. They are silent. Darrell Pruitt DDS