Implementation of stage 2 of the meaningful use standards for physicians seems to be stalled. CMS has paid physicians more than $10 billion for meeting meaningful use standards so far. Physicians have until Feb. 28 to attest that they’ve met the 17 core requirements for stage 2 for their Medicare and/or Medicaid patients. As of early December, however, only 3,655 eligible providers were paid for implementing stage 2, compared to 268,686 paid for stage 1. One of the problems with stage 2 implementation is that many older patients don’t have access to a computer.
| Stage 1: participating providers and payments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Providers | Payments | |
| Medicare | 268,686 | $6.5 billion |
| MDs or DOs | 239,430 | $5.9 billion |
| Dentists | 251 | $5.1 million |
| Optometrists | 11,986 | $260 million |
| Podiatrists | 8,447 | $226 million |
| Chiropractors | 8,572 | $150 million |
| Stage 2: participating providers and payments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Providers | Payments | |
| Medicare | 3,655 | $24 million |
| MDs or DOs | 3,511 | $23 million |
| Dentists | 2 | $12,000 |
| Optometrists | 24 | $153,000 |
| Podiatrists | 86 | $529,000 |
| Chiropractors | 32 | $230,000 |
| Source: CMS | ||
Paul Lendner ist ein praktizierender Experte im Bereich Gesundheit, Medizin und Fitness. Er schreibt bereits seit über 5 Jahren für das Managed Care Mag. Mit seinen Artikeln, die einen einzigartigen Expertenstatus nachweisen, liefert er unseren Lesern nicht nur Mehrwert, sondern auch Hilfestellung bei ihren Problemen.