The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act was signed into law on February 17, 2009. The health IT component of the Stimulus Bill, the HITECH Act, appropriates $19.2 billion dollars to encourage the adoption of electronic health records.
The Stimulus Bill will help provide most small to medium practice physicians in the United States with an electronic health record system at ZERO net cost to the physician. For some, the incentive payment is enough to cover the cost of a top-of- the line EHR system while producing a “surplus” of $20,000 - $55,000.
The opportunity presented by the bill to the American Physician is substantial. Qualified physicians who implement and use a certified electronic health record in a “meaningful” way will receive incentive payments through Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements.
Each Physician in a medical practice can qualify for payments of $44,000 - $64,000 to implement CCHIT certified Electronic Health Records and show how EHR benefits patients entrusted to their care.