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Report: 9 out of 10 radiologists could qualify for meaningful use incentives
Knowledge is power, and it can also provide a significant return for the radiology specialty--to the tune of $1.5 billion, according to a September article published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Many radiologists erroneously think they will not qualify for “meaningful use” incentives. While radiology as a specialty provides specific challenges to MU criteria adoption, a recent article prompts radiologists to pay better attention to equip themselves with the knowledge to cash in on new incentives.
Who qualifies?
Any radiologist who receives payments of at least $24,000 per year is eligible for up to $44,000 in bonus payments per physician over the next 5 years. To qualify, radiologists must provide 10 percent of services in an outpatient setting which includes urgent care facilities, independent clinics and offices as defined by Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services place of service codes.
"Given that even most hospital-based radiologists provide care for urgent care centers and clinics or offices, the American College of Radiology estimates that perhaps 90 percent of radiologists will be eligible for the CMS incentives," write the authors, led by Dr. Murray A. Reicher, co-founder of DR Systems Inc. in San Diego. Receiving these payments depends on the radiologists' ability "to rapidly adopt essential technology and practice workflows."
The article also states that one of the most obvious hurdles to adoption is a lack of any certified ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) systems or set of ambulatory modules that meet current meaningful use criteria. Still, the biggest mistake a radiologist can make is to do nothing, says Dr. Reicher.
Radiologists can take steps to become involved in hospital selection of technologies and to fully understand the unique specialty-specific issues that stand in the way of their payments.
"It’s a challenge and an opportunity." says Dr. Reicher. "I’m looking forward to increasing my clinical relevance, improving the clinical information I have available when I read an exam, and having a closer connection to my patients. All that and a $44k bonus...It’s not all bad."
The devil is in the details
Most radiologists are exempt from the e-prescribing clinical objective, since they write under 100 prescriptions a year. However, they still need to document that they are using a complete certified EHR. Thus, the hospital, office or imaging center must own e-prescribing technology, even though the radiologist is exempt from using it. "As illogical as this may seem, it is the law," the article states.
