Health IT Law Blog : Health IT Law Blog : Post & Schell: Law Firm : HIT & Electronic Health Records

According to American Medical News (AMN), a new report by Manhattan Research states that online communications by physicians have increased by 14% since 2006.  The survey of 1900 physicians found that 39% of physicians use online communication tools such as email, secure messaging, or instant messaging.

Dermatologists lead all other surveyed practices in the volume of online communications, which, according to Girish Munavalli, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, can be attributed to "a lot of triage calls and calls for clarification of instructions" which come from dermatologists' large patient volumes. "This is perfect for short e-mail communication and reminders," added Dr. Munavalli.

Dermatologists are followed by oncologists, neurologists, endocrinologists, infectious disease specialists, and primary care physicians.

Of course, certain obstacles remain.  Some doctors abstain from using such technology because of liability worries, while many patients prefer in-person meetings because of concerns regarding privacy of their health information.  Still, the report suggests that this increase may be due to the growing comfort level and acceptance of online communication between physicians and patients.  And it may even indicate a larger trend of greater familiarity and use of other health-related technologies, such as EMRs and personal health records.

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Physician practices are eligible to receive up to $44,000 per physician for meaningful use of certified EHR technology (as described here*):

• Up to $18,000 for the first year (dropping to $15,000 if first year is not 2011 or 2012); $12,000 for the second year; $ $8,000 in year 3, $4,000 in year 4 and $2,000 in year 5.  (See table after the jump.)
• There will be no incentive payments for practices establishing their meaningful EHR use after 2014 (e.g., beginning 2015).
• Meaningful EHR use by physicians will be further defined by regulations, but at a minimum, includes the use of e-prescribing and participation in “the electronic exchange of health information to improve the quality of health care, such as promoting care coordination,” i.e., HIEs or RHIOs.
• For the electronic exchange of health information to improve the quality of health care, such as promoting care coordination.
• There is a 10% premium for physicians with practices in under-serviced areas.
• However, if a physician practice does not achieve meaningful EHR status by 2015, Medicare reimbursement fees will be reduced by 1% in 2015, 2% in 2016, 3% in 2017 and beyond; and the Secretary will have the right to reduce fees by 5% starting in 2018 for those practices where meaningful EHR use is under 75%.

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