Just 10 percent of healthcare CIOs do not expect to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid bonuses for "meaningful use" of EMRs during Stage 1 of the federal incentive program, 2011-12, according to a new survey of College of Health Information Management Executives (CHIME) members.

Some 28 percent of the 152 survey respondents say they will achieve meaningful use during the first half of fiscal year 2011, which begins Oct. 1, 2010. Another 62 percent expect to reach the goal between April 1, 2011, and the end of Stage 1, Sept. 30, 2012.

To no surprise, confidence runs higher at large hospitals. Nearly all of those surveyed at facilities with 600 to 999 beds expect to earn Stage 1 bonuses, compared to just two-thirds of CIOs at hospitals with 100 to 199 beds.

Despite the optimism, many CIOs are still trying to figure out some of the finer points of the requirements. CHIME conducted the survey in August, a few weeks after CMS finalized the rules for meaningful use on July 13. "CIOs are still early in the discovery process. We don't yet have a complete understanding of the [EMR] certification process and its impact on providers," Pamela McNutt, senior vice president and CIO of Methodist Health System in Dallas, and chair of CHIME's Policy Steering Committee, says in a press release. "The reality of what it will take to qualify for stimulus funding won't be fully known until our vendors have obtained certification," she added.

While federal officials released details for EMR certification on the same day the meaningful use rules came out, it was only two weeks ago that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology named the first two authorized certification bodies, allowing testing of EMR functionality to move forward.

CHIME says it is preparing a list of questions it will submit to unspecified federal officials asking for clarification of some aspects of the incentive program.

For further information:
- download the survey results (.pdf)
- check out this story from Becker's Hospital Review

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