Article - June 11, 2008 - WTN News

Madison selected for electronic medical record demonstration project

By Joe Vanden Plas

Madison, Wis. - As part of a five-year project, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt today named 12 areas, including Madison, that will take part in a national Medicare demonstration project to evaluate whether electronic medical records really do improve the quality of healthcare.

As part of the project, the federal government will provide incentive payments to physicians for using certified electronic medical records.

Leavitt, who visited Madison in January, said the first-of-its-kind project is designed to help increase the adoption of the technology at the individual physician and small-practice levels. While hospitals have been deploying EMRs in growing numbers, individual doctors and small practices have been handcuffed by the cost of the technology and its implementation.

During the course of the demonstration project, financial incentives will be provided to as many as 1,200 primary care physician practices that use certified EMRs in the selected communities. Bonus payments also could be awarded based on the EMR functionalities incorporated into physician practices, with total payments reaching up to $58,000 per physician or $290,000 per practice.

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