Incentives are a key to convincing doctors and hospitals to computerize patient health records, a report by a state task force recommends.
Incentives could include higher payments by insurers for doctors who use electronic records. Proponents say health information technology can cut costs by preventing duplicate medical testing or procedures, and errors that can lead to allergic reactions or potentially harmful drug interactions.
Yes, i agree. Some insurance companies can give incentives to the doctors for using Electronic Health Records. So, i think some of the doctors were use this Electronic Health Records, even for because of this incentives.
We are seeing more and more practices inquiring about an EMR as a result of both ROI incentives (e.g. reducing overhead) and tangible incentives offered by payers, health systems and insurers. We wrote an article on the top five such incentives at:
http://www.softwareadvice.com/medical/5-ways-physicians-can-profit-from-using-an-emr/
Five incentives we listed were:
1. Stop paying staff to manage paper by going paperless
2. Reduce malpractice insurance premiums through automation
3. Stop downcoding and submit claims with confidence (E&M advice)
4. Participate in pay-for-performance programs
5. Get your EMR purchase subsidized by health systems