Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Co-sponsored by the Hospitals and Health Systems, Health Information and Technology, Physician Organizations, and Teaching Hospitals and Academic Medical Centers Practice Groups
If you would like to have the faculty address a specific issue during the webinar, please submit your question by Wednesday, October 20, 2010, to pgs@healthlawyers.org.
(Please note this webinar was rescheduled from September 28th.)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided up to $27 billion in funding to encourage the “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs). These incentives become available starting in 2011 for certain hospitals and professionals who achieve "meaningful use" of certified EHR technology, but decreased Medicare reimbursements will begin in 2015 for those who do not.
Materials posted for this webinar will describe the fundamental meaningful use requirements and highlight changes from the proposed rules. Sample language for vendor EHR contracts and the recent “Tiger Team” recommendations will also be provided.
The faculty will explore what healthcare lawyers should know to help clients qualify for the meaningful use incentives and avoid compliance pitfalls. They will address practical issues from the perspective of a compliance officer, as well as counsel for a vendor and a healthcare provider, including:
- Compliance issues to consider in selecting and implementing an EHR.
- Requirements for attesting to meaningful use of a certified EHR.
- The intersection of meaningful use and the EHR Stark and Anti-Kickback subsidy rules.
- Contracting for acquisition of a certified EHR—obtaining vendor warranties regarding meaningful use in Stage 1 and beyond.
- Obligations of the healthcare provider using a hybrid EHR system (in which software from more than one vendor is used to achieve meaningful use).
- Special timing issues for hospitals—is earlier always better?
- Will “meaningful consent” be required—beyond HIPAA requirements—for personal health information provided through a Health Information Exchange or Regional Health Information Organizations, as recommended by the “Tiger Team”?