EHR Initiative to Improve Health Care Quality

An iniative to encourage physicians to adopt electronic health records (EHR) was announced earlier this week by the HHS. The five-year project will be open to 1,200 physicians will begin this spring.

The program will provide financial incentives to physican groups using certified EHRs and that meet certain quality measures. The project is aimed to improve the quality of care to 3.6 million consumers, which they anticipate will result in significant savings for Medicare consumers. HHS are also asking private insurers to help accelerate certified EHR adoption by offering similar incentives.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association responded and applauded the move, and believes EHRs are an important step to promote greater patient safety, increased quality of care and increased efficency. They also say, through the collective strengths of public & private sectors, this initiate will translate the benefits of health information technology from vision into reality.