Health IT Money May Not Work
This is from a story from the Associated Press:
Billions of stimulus dollars meant to spur doctors to switch to electronic record-keeping may not be enough to do the job, [according to a new study].
Using government cost estimates, researchers found that it would cost about $124,000 for a single doctor or small practice to upgrade to electronic health records over a five year period…….. But the total incentive payments a doctor could get over that time period only add up to $44,000.
In 2015, penalties start to kick in for doctors who haven't switched to electronic record-keeping. But in one scenario mapped by Avalere, the starting penalty would be $5,100 a year – far less than how much it would cost to install and maintain an electronic health system.
Se my comment above. I second it here.
Looks like we are going to have a pay-or-play EMR choice for docs, just like the pay-or-play health insurance choice for employers.
In both cases the result is likely to be the same: People will pay the fine, because it’s the cheapest alternative.