NC Department of Health and Human Services

DHHS > Health IT > Public Health and Meaningful Use

Public Health and Meaningful Use

North Carolina Public Health and Meaningful Use

The federal stimulus legislation known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) contains authorization for nearly $36 billion in funding for health information technology (HIT) infrastructure over six years. The concepts for how this unprecedented investment in HIT is to be spent are set forth in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) portion of ARRA.

Of the total authorized funding, the largest portion, roughly $34 billion, is set aside as incentive payments by the Medicare and Medicaid programs for providers and hospitals who implement HIT in their practices. To qualify for these incentive payments, they must adopt a certified electronic health record, demonstrate meaningful use of the EHR in their practice, and provide data for quality reporting.

The Medicare EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) that demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

Participation can begin as early as 2011.
Eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 over five years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. There's an additional incentive for eligible professionals who provide services in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).
To get the maximum incentive payment, Medicare eligible professionals must begin participation by 2012.
Incentive payments for eligible hospitals and CAHs may begin as early as 2011 and are based on a number of factors, beginning with a $2 million base payment.
For 2015 and later, Medicare eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs that do not successfully demonstrate meaningful use will have a payment adjustment in their Medicare reimbursement.

The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs as they adopt, implement, upgrade, or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology in their first year of participation and demonstrate meaningful use for up to five remaining participation years.

The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program is voluntarily offered by individual states and territories and may begin as early as 2011.
Eligible professionals can receive up to $63,750 over the six years that they choose to participate in the program.
Eligible hospital incentive payments may begin as early as 2011, depending on when the state begins its program. The last year a Medicaid eligible hospital may begin the program is 2016. Hospital payments are based on a number of factors, beginning with a $2 million base payment.
There are no payment adjustments under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

Overview of CMS Final Rule on Meaningful Use of EHRs

In North Carolina, the NC Division of Public Health will provide the public health meaningful use component in three areas:

Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR): Cancer Collection and Reporting and Communicable Disease ELR
Syndromic Surveillance
North Carolina Immunization Registry (NCIR)