Do you qualify to receive a Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive payment for 2011 and 2012? If so, you could receive a maximum of $18,000 for reporting those Meaningful Use requirements. If you have just started the Meaningful Use process and won’t be able to meet the 90 consecutive days of reporting for 2012, the highest incentive payment that can be received for 2013 is $15,000. These payment amounts may vary from physician to physician. As incentive payment amounts continue to decline, physicians and other health care professionals who wait to implement EHRs and attest to Meaningful Use are at risk to receive penalties instead of incentives.

Beginning in 2015, Medicare eligible professionals who do not successfully meet Meaningful Use will be subject to a downward payment adjustment. How physicians report in 2013 will determine the adjustment set for 2015. Now is the time to start reporting Meaningful Use requirements if you have not done so already.

Keep in mind, the 90-day reporting period for eligible professionals participating in Medicare’s EHR Incentive Program begins Wednesday, October 3, 2012. Consecutive reporting is required to attest to Meaningful Use and to receive the incentive payment this year.

Registration and attestation for Meaningful Use is now available. Physicians who need assistance with attesting to Meaningful Use may contact Terri Gonzalez, NCMS Director of Practice Improvement, at 800-722-1350 or [email protected]. The NCMS offers consulting services through PractEssentials to assist physicians and their practices with practice management needs. NCMS members can receive these services at a discounted rate.