June 20, 2012 — More than 100,000 healthcare providers are using electronic health records (EHRs) that meet federal standards and have benefited from the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced.
Three months ago, CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Farzad Mostashari, M.D., Sc.M., declared a goal of getting 100,000 healthcare providers to adopt or use EHRs by the end of 2012. That goal has been met and surpassed.
The EHR incentive programs, which began in 2011, provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, hospitals, and critical access hospitals as they adopt, implement, upgrade, or meaningfully use certified EHR technology in ways that improve care. Eligible professionals include physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and some physician assistants. The program was established by the Health Information for Clinical and Economic Health Act of 2009 (HITECH).
As of the end of May 2012:
• More than 110,000 eligible professionals and over 2,400 eligible hospitals have been paid by the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
• Approximately 48 percent of all eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals in the United States have received an incentive payment for adopting, implementing, upgrading, or meaningfully using an EHR.
• One out of every five Medicare and Medicaid eligible professionals in the United States has received an incentive payment for adopting, implementing, upgrading, or meaningfully using an EHR.
• More than $5.7 billion in EHR Incentive Program payments were made.
• More than $3 billion in Medicare EHR Incentive Program payments were made between May 2011 (when the first payments were released) and the end of May 2012.
• More than $2.6 billion in Medicaid EHR Incentive Program payments were made between January 2011 (when the first states launched their programs) and the end of May 2012.
The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs provide incentive payments for using EHR technology in ‘meaningful’ ways that lead to higher quality care, improved patient safety and shared decision making by patients and physicians. Under both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals can receive support and financial incentives or implementing and meaningfully using certified EHR technology.
Forty four states are participating in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program as of May 2012.
For more information: www.cms.gov/ehrincentiveprograms/
May 01, 2026 
