Among professionals awarded a Medicare EHR incentive payment for 2011, the report found that southern medical professionals practicing specialty medicine in urban areas are more likely to be awarded incentive payments:
• About 32 percent of the medical professionals that received an EHR incentive payment were located in the South.
• Only 17 percent were located in the West.
• A significant majority — 89 percent — were in urban areas.
• Fifty percent were specialty practice physicians.
• About 38 percent were general practice physicians.
In addition, professionals with certain characteristics were more likely to have been awarded a Medicare EHR incentive payment for 2011.
• General practice physicians were 1.8 times more likely than specialty practice physicians to have been awarded an incentive payment.
• Professionals who had previously participated in CMS’ electronic prescribing program were almost 4 times more likely to have been awarded an incentive payment than those who had not participated in the electronic prescribing program.
• Professionals who had signed an agreement to receive technical assistance from a Regional Extension Center were more than twice as likely to have been awarded an incentive payment.
• Professionals in the top third in terms of 2010 Medicare Part B charges or number of 2010 Medicare Part B encounters were more than 3 times more likely to have been awarded an incentive payment compared to those in the bottom third for charges or number of encounters.
More Articles on EHR Incentive Payments:
EHR Incentive Payments Reach $5.7B
CMS Releases Names of Medicare EHR Incentive Payment Recipients
Physician Registration for EHR Incentives Drops 12%
