Update on Work...

I am trying to get back into the habit of blogging. It has been some time since I posted last, and a lot has happened. At the beginning of the year I began a new and exciting job that I am thoroughly enjoying. I am the Director of a National Electronic Health Records (EHR) Demonstration Project that is focused on improving the quality of patient care through the efficient use of EHRs.

We (Medicare) are offering to pay primary care physicians an incentive payment for using EHRs efficiently to improve the quality of care. The way the medical system is organized creates an unfair mismatch for physicians. In most cases they bear the sole responsibility of purchasing these expensive systems, and once they do the payers of health care, like Medicare, receive most of the financial benefit. It isn’t until the EHR is well integrated into the physicians practice that they start saving money. Through this demonstration project, Medicare is taking the lead to try and reverse this mismatch by giving money back to physicians for effectively using EHRs to help us accomplish the ultimate objective which is to improve the quality of care Medicare beneficiaries receive. In the middle of June we will be announcing 12 communities across the country that will participate in the demonstration project with us. To date, we have visited about 37 communities and invited them to apply to be part of the project. The project has been well received, and we are hopeful that we will get a good amount of applications.

I am writing this from an Amtrack train, headed up to Newark to participate in the last event for the promotion of my project. The applications are due May 13. I am challenged by the work, but am enjoying it and learning a lot; it has been a great project for me to work on! If you want to learn more, which I'm sure all of you do, here are the links to more information on the project:

EHR Demonstration Fact Sheet
EHR Demonstration Web Site

Here is an article from the road:
http://www.khi.org/s/index.cfm?aid=1157