>According to a article in Politico.com, the AMA and the AHA are still lobbying to monkey with healthcare reform. They want to extend the deadline for the grant money for EMR implementation and change the definition of meaningful use.
According to Politico, “The AHA has proposed easing the timeline for meaningful use, stretching back requirements until 2017 and lowering the number of requirements that hospitals would need to meet. The group’s proposal was bolstered in mid-March, when 249 members of the House sent a letter to CMS, calling the new regulation “too much, too soon for the vast majority of America’s hospitals.” Twenty-seven senators sent a similar letter.”
While the AHA does have a point in that EMR implementation is a long process,they also forget to mention that if an organization chooses to go the Medicare route for the grant money, they really have to be up and running before the end of 2012 before money will be left on the table.
And if you fall into certain categories, or have a large Medicaid population, it might be in your best interest to use Medicaid grant money. The Medicaid program gives you until 2015 for the first year payment of $25K and then follows with $10K for the next 4 years, for a total of $65K.
Yes – EMR implementation is a long drawn out, expensive messy process. Any organization that assumes they can implement an EMR quickly or use current staff to implement while maintaining current workflow is mistaken. You will need extra staff. And be prepared to go over budget. Even with the grant money, you will be out of pocket $$$. The only question is how much.
EMR implementation is like death and taxes. Ignoring it will not help. The AMA and AHA would better serve their members by using their resources to promote rapid implementation. Extending the status quo only prolongs the misery.
Politico Article
Patching the Boat 