The $63,750 Question: Electronic Health Records by David Smith, MBA

1. Each qualifying dentist must adopt a software system that meets a certification standard from an Office of the National Coordinator – Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB). When you purchase your EHR system, make sure it has this certification. If the software is not “ONC Certified,” you won’t qualify for the Medicaid incentive payments.
2. Following the acquisition and installation of the EHR software, register for the incentive program on the CMS Meaningful Use Web site (https://ehrincentives.cms.gov/hitech/login.action). After registration for the federal program, you also need to register on the state level. Go to your state Web site and follow the directions provided there for registration. For a list of state Web sites, see www.cms.gov/apps/files/statecontacts.pdf.
3. After registering on both the federal and state levels, you must provide data that supports the 30 percent Medicaid patient requirement. You must show that, during any 90-day window in the calendar year, at least 30 percent of your patient encounters were patients covered by Medicaid. This population data is typically entered on your state’s department of health Web site (www.cms.gov/apps/files/statecontacts.pdf ) (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Example report showing 30 percent Medicaid patient encounters by provider.
Fig. 2: Example of a meaningful use dashboard.

For each of the second through sixth years, to qualify for the $8,500 yearly payments, you must demonstrate the standard known as “meaningful use” – i.e., show you are using the technology in significant, specifically measurable ways. This standard can best be implemented if your software gives you access to what’s known as a Meaningful Use dashboard. This type of active reporting feature lets you quickly see how well you are meeting each of the meaningful use requirements. This tool has proven to be invaluable to doctors in the medical arena in helping them meet the “meaningful use standard.”

Meaningful use requirements read a lot like a Boy Scout merit badge. There are 25 objectives, 15 of which are required (core) and 10 are electives. You must meet 20 objectives to qualify for the incentive: the 15 core requirements and five of the electives (Fig. 2).

Some good news is that meaningful use may actually be easier for a dentist than for a primary care practitioner because of identified exclusions. One such exclusion is for the recording and chart changes in vital signs. Since dentists typically do not take this type of information, they might be exempt from this meaningful use core requirement. Those items where exclusions might apply are shown with a line through them in the following list of meaningful use requirements.

For more information on specific exclusions that might apply, see the information provided at: www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/downloads/EP-MU-TOC.pdf

If you are a periodontist, endodontist and/or maxillofacial surgeon who also sees Medicare patients, you might be eligible for incentives from Medicare.

Summary
Physicians have been actively implementing EHR software systems in their practices for years and are now the beneficiaries of the large associated government incentives. With software companies releasing EHR software designed for dentists, qualifying for these government incentives has become much easier. If you see a significant number of Medicaid patients, you might be eligible for $63,750 in government incentives. The timing couldn’t be better for the dental community to take advantage of this opportunity. What are you waiting for?

For more information on this subject, see www.dentimax.com/EHR.

Author's Bio

David Smith has a Masters in Business Administration from Westminster College and a BA from Brigham Young University. He has assisted more than 100 medical providers in attaining meaningful use. For the last 15 years, he has worked in the health care information technology market. He has written dental practice management system user’s guides, and worked in operations and product management for electronic health record vendors. You may reach David Smith at medtimer@gmail.com.