week 10 discussion responses 2

Write a response to each discussion

Taylor 10.1

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 also known as (ARRA) signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009. It was created to provide a stimulus to the US economy in the wake of the economic downturn. The incentives were 1. electronic health records initiation, 2. electronic prescribing program, and 4. ICD-10 codes Baker & Baker (2014). Eligible hospitals may receive a $2,000,000 base amount payment and related payments that span over a 4-year period.  If a hospital did not adopt by 2015, it faced a penalty.  The physician incentive includes a maximum payment in year 1, then decreasing by a percentage every year thereafter.

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Pick 10.1

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was created in 2009 as a $789 billion stimulus package to create and save jobs (Steinbrook, 2009). ARRA has three adoption expectations: electronic health records initiation, electronic prescribing program, and ICD-10 codes. An eligible hospital can receive a $2,000,000 base amount payment plus discharge-related payments that span a four-year period (Baker & Baker, 2014). Each physician can also receive incentives, but they must be a “meaningful user”. The maximum amount a physician can receive decreases each year so the sooner the physician becomes a meaningful EHR user the more money they receive (Steinbrook, 2009). For healthcare, the ARRA created the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH).

When my organization implemented the HIT, there are a lot of costs associated with it. The were the initial cost of implementation to purchase the program, hiring and training of IT employees as well as training of staff. While there were incentives to implement the HIT as well as cost reductions in other areas, the overall cost was greater. There are other incentives to implementation that just cost though.

Heard 10.1

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Under the Medicare program eligible hospitals receive payments.  The incentive payments are based upon hospital services and are given the hospital and their physicians must be a “meaningful electronic health records (EHR) user” (Baker, 2014). Incorporating this system will require staff training and new equipment.

There are three adoption deadlines for electronic health records:

– Electronic health records initiated by the HITECH Act initiative

– Electronic prescribing (eRx) program

– ICD – 10 Codes

Hospital incentives include eligibility for a $2,000,000 base payment, while physician incentives are based on the determination of services rendered and these hospital Medicare program incentive payments span a four-year period.  

The HITECH program provides approximately 17 billion dollars in incentive monies for hospitals and physicians.  Under HIT, specifically, health care professionals must adopt a certified EHR and use it to achieve objectives to quality for Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs.  CMS regulates the meaningful use objectives.

Arias 10.1

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Under the Medicare program eligible hospitals receive payments.  The incentive payments are based upon hospital services and are given the hospital and their physicians must be a “meaningful electronic health records (EHR) user”.  According to Baker & Baker (2014), an eligible hospital may receive a payment of $2,000,000 and these hospital Medicare program incentive payments span a four year period.  Implementing HIT in healthcare organizations may have its benefits, but it will require time and expenses.  Incorporating this system will require staff training and new equipment.

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