In 2017, the federal government rolled out a new program designed to move Medicare payments to a more qualitative approach. This program – dubbed the “Merit-based Incentive Payment System” (MIPS) – is designed to help healthcare facilities, medical providers, and clinicians control costs associated with delivering Medicare-focused healthcare.
While the MIPS program is designed to help trim away the fat associated with Medicare costs, the program is only in its initial year. That means, based on 2017 performance, serious changes could be on the horizon – and many healthcare providers are worried about keeping up.
At the heart of the MIPS program is its ability to measure how clinicians and healthcare providers using electronic health records (EHR). In recent years, there has been a shift from keeping paper records, which are prone to inaccuracies, difficult to track, and present a myriad of security risks. Electronic health records make it possible for healthcare facilities to store and protect patient data, make it easy for medical staff members to access data, and minimize the potential for errors.
In addition to these benefits, electronic health records provide a data point for the MIPS program to measure whether or not clinicians are controlling Medicare costs. Clinicians who have yet to implement electronic health records in their facilities or use federally approved EHR devices may find that at the end of 2017, they could run afoul of any MIPS program changes.
Remember, the MIPS program is currently in the process of measuring this data, which means nothing will happen to clinicians who haven’t implemented federally approved EHR systems yet. Yet 2017 is being treated as a baseline year – which means changes are almost certainly going to be implemented for 2018 and beyond. Therefore, it makes sense to implement federally approved EHR systems now!
Onyx Healthcare provides federally approved EHR systems that can help clinicians control Medicare costs. To learn more about how Onyx Healthcare can help your hospital or medical facility keep up with the MIPS program, visit http://onyxhealthcareusa.com/ today.
