It looks like we are starting to get more information on how physicians and hospitals can get the EMR incentive reimbursement for adopting EMR system that was passed as part of the federal stimulus plan ($14.1 billion to $27.3 billion in net Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments).
The federal government has issued two sets of regulations that are designed to lay the groundwork for physicians and hospitals to receive payments for implementing and utilizing electronic medical records.
A proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services outlines provisions governing EMR incentives and details what constitutes meaningful use of the technology — a prerequisite for receiving any bonus dollars. A separate, interim final regulation issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology sets initial standards and certification criteria for the use of approved EMRs.
Hopefully this will bring more clarity to the overall EMR market and start a consolidation between the different vendors. Follow the link to take a look to get a chart containing the first 25 objectives to meet meaningful use.