CMS selects CureMD as Qualified EHR Vendor – leaving major vendors behind

New York, January 3, 2011 - CMS has Qualified CureMD’s EHR v10 for the PQRI and eRx reporting for incentive payments. Qualified systems enable physicians using them to submit the required data to CMS, earning potentially thousands of dollars in added income. Only 28 vendors have been certified for 2011.

According to CMS, the selection of EHR vendors and their systems involved a thorough technical review to verify the products capability to provide the required data elements for the 20 Physician Quality Reporting System measures. In addition to capturing the required data elements for the measure calculation, the qualified EHR products must also transmit the required information in the requested file format directly from the EMR.

Industry consultant Susan Madden, President of the Verden Group commented; “Physicians have to ask about this capability, because unless directly asked, companies that don’t have this capability will not disclose it.” She added, “In the absence of this feature, physicians will have to spend an enormous amount of time trying to file for this money from CMS, most will abandon the effort and lose what could easily be in excess of $50,000 per physician.”

Medicare and Medicaid provide additional reimbursement to physicians that participate with these measures, Medicare, an added 1% for PQRI and Medicaid an additional 2% for ePrescribing. Paper claim submission, older physician billing systems, and electronic prescribing systems that were not integrated with physicians’ electronic health records (EHR) and practice management systems, all serve as barriers to obtain these economic benefits.

Russell Watson, of the Watson Group pointed out, “Only 28 vendors are CMS qualified, which should be seen as a minimum requirement in selecting a system. Capabilities are more important than big names, as well known companies like NexGen, Athena and Allscripts failed to obtain certification this year.”

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is the US federal agency which administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Complete listing of qualified EHR can be accessed at (Qualified Electronic Health Record (EHR) Vendors for the 2011 Physician Quality Reporting System and Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Programs).

CureMD delivers a superior combination of all-in-one EHR, practice management & patient portal solution with innovative services like discrete reportable transcription (DRT), compliance advisory and billing services to help providers practice meaningful use, increase collections, receive incentives and subsidy payments to maximize value and returns.