Still no IRS ruling on giving physicians IT

For a while now, the voluntary hospital industry has been nervously waiting for the IRS to offer some guidance on whether they can legally give EMRs or other IT equipment to physicians--and have gotten no response. Now, hospital executives are starting to get antsy. Last week the American Hospital Association issued yet another request urging the IRS to offer clear guidance on whether health IT donations to doctors are OK, acceptable some of the time or unacceptable.

It's now been established that hospitals can give physicians equipment created by CCHIT vendors without facing CMS kickback scrutiny--as long as it's interoperable--but it continues to be in question whether hospitals can supply technologies without risking their tax-exempt status. The question is whether hospitals can give away such IT assets and still be seen as fulfilling their charitable mission, rather than a "private interest." No word yet from the IRS when they'll take action. In the mean time, hospitals may still have a devil of a time getting doctors on board with, say, EMRs.

For more information on the tax issue:
- read this article from Health Data Management

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