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ARRA or HITECH Stimulus Plan - Do You Qualify? “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed by President Obama on February 17, 2009, includes billions in provisions for healthcare information technology.”1 There are three factors that determine your eligibility: Purpose This legislation was passed for one specific purpose: to ensure utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014. Obviously, it is part of the overall effort to overhaul our inefficient healthcare system. It is specifically designed to share information amongst healthcare providers including hospitals, individual practitioners and patients themselves. By sharing information across the network of healthcare providers, the following goals will be achieved: • Decrease medical mistakes by better communication amongst health-care providers. Unfortunately, I have had family experience with communication errors. My uncle was admitted to the hospital for the diagnosis of Valley fever. He died in a hospital of congestive heart failure because the hospital didn't continue his regimen of heart medications even though he kept telling them what he was taking. If an online record had existed from his family physician and cardiologist, he could still be alive. • Eliminate costly duplication of tests. If the patient was in an auto accident and had cervical x-rays performed at the hospital, it may not be necessary to take a second set of x-rays at your office if those x-rays were immediately available. This is just one small example. In an emergency situation, many tests are ordered to avoid future malpractice litigation rather than for strictly diagnostic purposes. • Gather data about treatment protocols and their outcomes. It is this portion of the act that has raised concerns in the medical community. No one wants the government to dictate treatment protocol. While everyone wants the best possible outcome, doctors do not want the government to dictate the method. There have been no regulations enacted yet as to the methods of gathering data. Eligibility According to the ARRA or HITECH (HITECH Act – Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) the following practitioners are eligible to receive stimulus incentives: • a doctor of medicine or osteopathy • a doctor of dental surgery or medicine • a doctor of podiatric medicine • a doctor of optometry • a chiropractor Physical therapist and occupational therapists are excluded. Anyone whose primary practice is hospital-based such as anesthesiologists and emergency room doctors are also excluded. A sports medicine or industrial injury clinic, even though it might be staffed by MDs and DCs, would not qualify unless they treat Medicare patients. Reimbursement is tied to the two government programs, Medicare and Medicaid. Read our statement and watch our video: Statement Video
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