The federal government has recently warned physicians that they will soon be penalized if they do not use electronic medical records for patient care. Although the government has been handing out $30 billion in incentives to assist doctors in installing and using electronic medical records, there is growing resistance within the health care sector because of concerns of the efficiency and effectiveness of current technology for electronic health records.
In January 2015, a group of 37 medical societies, led by the American Medical Association sent a letter to Health and Human Services, criticizing the government’s plans regarding electronic medical records, claiming that the current system is cumbersome, decrease efficiency, and present safety problems for patients.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services responded to these complaints by stating that it will ease reporting burdens on doctors in a proposed rule, set to come out in the spring of 2015. However, the proposed rule will not eliminate penalties levied on physicians who do not make the switch to electronic health records.
For more information how you can avoid government penalties, contact the Goosmann Law Firm at info@goosmannlaw.com or (712) 226-4000.