Shareable Ink's "Meaningful Use" Program for Anesthesiologists
ShareMU is a program that combines certified EHR software and a process that enables anesthesiologists to qualify for Meaningful Use - even if they don't work in an office-based setting.
The enterprise cloud-based software resides in the background, requiring little or no implementation at the facility. Information is captured effortlessly using digital pens or an iPad application. This ease and portability supports every care setting where anesthesia services are provided – without the need for a pre-existing EHR or the involvement of hospital IT staff.
The process defines the method to capture the data for each required “Core Objective”, “Menu Objective”, and “Clinical Quality Measure” that comprises Meaningful Use. The protocol was optimized to avoid or minimize workflow changes for the anesthesiologist.
ShareMU Benefits
- Won’t change your workflow – one additional form
- Doesn’t require special software at your facilities
- Works with the Shareable Ink Anesthesia Suite EHR, stand-alone, or with other EHRs
- Portability allows it to be used in all inpatient, ancillary, and outpatient settings
- Doesn’t require work by your facility’s IT staff
- Is low cost and low risk – our fees are tied to when you get paid
The 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act authorized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide financial incentives to physicians and hospitals for the “Meaningful Use” of certified EHR technology by 2015, and penalties thereafter for non-compliance. The overarching goal of the program is to encourage the use of EHR technology in ways that can positively impact patient care. The financial incentives to physicians who qualify as “Eligible Providers” (EP) add up to $44,000 per EP if Meaningful Use starts in 2012.
Qualifications of an "Eligible Provider" according to the CMS guidelines:
- You must be a doctor of medicine or osteopathy. CRNA’s do not qualify
- You cannot be a “hospital-based” physician, according to CMS’s definition:
- CMS defines “hospital-based” as physicians who bill more than 90% of their place of service (POS) codes on their physician claims forms as either 21 (Inpatient Hospital) or 23 (Emergency Room, Hospital)
- ASA data shows that only 30% of the POS codes submitted to Medicare by anesthesiologists are 21 or 23
- The typical anesthesiologist seeing a mix of day surgery patients (even in the hospital) and inpatients does not meet the 90% threshold and is therefore not considered to be “hospital-based”
Four Steps to Incentive Payment
- Contact Shareable Ink. Our staff can further explain the ShareMU program and provide you with the necessary paperwork to get started
- Register as an Eligible Provider on CMS’s EHR Incentives website, using the CMS EHR certification ID provided to you by Shareable Ink for the ShareMU program.
- Start using ShareMU. Shareable Ink provides a quick implementation and training program.
- Attest on the EHR Incentives website after 90 consecutive days of use. EHR incentive payments are typically received 4-8 weeks later.
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