What you need to know about the HITECH Act of 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, as part of the stimulus package (a.k.a. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)). The main goal of the HITECH Act is to encourage the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) through incentive payments to physicians.

According to the Act, physicians are eligible to receive up to $44,000 in total incentives per physician from Medicare for “meaningful use” of a certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) starting in 2011. (Note: Physicians reimbursed by Medicaid can receive up to approximately $65,000 starting in 2011 based on state-defined guidelines.) In keeping with our mission to be physicians’ most trusted business service, athenahealth now offers the most meaningful Federal Stimulus Bonus Payment Guarantee Program as a commitment that physicians using athenaClinicals will receive their HITECH Act payment from Medicare for “meaningful use” of an EHR.

Though we know that reimbursement is granted for the “meaningful use” of a certified EHR, the certification process and standards remain unclear. Fortunately, athenaClinicals^SM has received the most current CCHIT certification, and, because athenaClinicals is network-based, we are well positioned to quickly incorporate any requirements across our user base as mandated for “meaningful use.” HHS is not expected to announce final “meaningful use” guidelines until spring 2010, though recommendations for “meaningful use” (including dozens of objectives and measures) were released by the HIT Policy Committee this summer.

Despite this lack of clarity, athenahealth is confident of our solution’s ability to meet the requirements for “meaningful use.” Not only are we taking a proactive approach, with our Communications and Government Relations teams regularly lending insights to and gaining information from decision-makers at HHS and in Congress, but our solution is also well-aligned with the framework established by policy-makers.

Improved outcomes

• Care Coordination (Electronically exchange information): Unlike most EHR offerings, athenaClinicals is network-based, meaning that it already exchanges clinical information with dozens of labs, hospitals, providers, and payers across the country (including Medicare and Medicaid). We are well-positioned to meet and manage other interoperability requirements.
• Patient and family engagement: athenahealth’s existing ReminderCall^SM service, which will be incorporated into the soon-to-be-released athenaCommunicator^SM service, is integrated to help practices meet these HHS priorities.

Advanced clinical processes

• Use of e-Prescribing: athenaClinicals is Surescripts® certified for Prescription Benefit Eligibility, Formulary, and Reporting; Medication History (payer); Prescription Renewals (retail); and Prescription Routing for New Prescriptions (retail and mail-order).
• Closed Order Management: Because our EHR includes document management services, we make it easy for providers to create and send electronic orders from the encounter. Users can also track and close orders within the application for better follow-up and quality reporting.

Data capture and sharing

• Quality care and population management: athenaClinicals’ rules database provides a set of payer-specific quality measures–including existing Pay for Performance (P4P) measures such as Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). The database also allows for comprehensive and automatic demographic reporting.

The HITECH Act is clearly an ideal opportunity for physicians who use EHRs effectively to be rewarded and to stimulate adoption for those who aren’t currently using EHRs. We are here to help you navigate through the complex health care environment, maximize your revenue, and focus on quality care.