North Shore-LIJ Health System Invests in Electronic Health Records
The North Shore-LIJ Health System announced today it is subsidizing up to 85 percent of the cost of implementing and operating an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system in the offices of its more than 7,000 affiliated physicians in New York City and Long Island – part of a $400 million investment to strengthen the quality of care throughout the region by automating inpatient and outpatient records in all medical settings, including 13 hospitals. In implementing the largest EHR program in the New York metropolitan area and one of the largest in the nation, North Shore-LIJ will provide physicians with individual subsidies of up to $40,000 over five years.
In implementing the largest EHR program in the New York metropolitan area and one of the largest in the nation, North Shore-LIJ will provide physicians with individual subsidies of up to $40,000 over five years.
Physicians who receive the 85 percent subsidy from North Shore-LIJ will agree to use the EHR to report and share their performance data, allowing them to compare it against a set of nationally recognized measures for superior care and outcomes.
This model is increasingly being used by medical associations, health sysems and IPAs across the country. In effect, physicians agree to “sell” their data in exchange for subsidies. Many physicians are pondering this decision, since in effect PQRI (the Physician Quality Reporting Inititiative) by CMS asks for the same data.
CMS’ proposals for the 2010 PQRI, including the proposed PQRI reporting mechanisms, the proposed criteria for satisfactory reporting, the proposed measures, and the proposed measures groups, can be found in section G2 of the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule (74 FR 33559 through 33589). The 2010 PFS proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2009.
On July 1, 2009 CMS released a display copy of the Proposed FY 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
E-prescribing is generally the first step – a prescriber’s ability to electronically send an accurate, error-free and understandable prescription directly to a pharmacy from the point-of-care.
E-Presribing Links:
