In a letter to Donald M. Berwick, MD, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the North Carolina Medical Society this week joined with other state and national physician organizations calling for more changes in the proposed 2011 Electronic-Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program. The groups urged CMS to establish an additional eRx reporting period in 2012 and not apply penalties until 2013, otherwise a significant number of physicians and other eligible professionals will be unfairly penalized starting January 1, 2012. CMS was urged to use this opportunity to make the eRx program fair and reasonable and better align the eRx and Medicare/Medicaid EHR incentive programs in order to minimize the financial and administrative hardships created by the various overlapping Medicare incentive and penalty programs currently underway.

Click here to read the letter, sent July 25, 2011.