Hospital CEO Recommends Jim Tate for CMS EHR Incentive Audit Support and Mitigation

June 11, 2013 - PRLog -- "Recently we were selected to undergo an audit of our Stage 1 meaningful use attestation. Our first reaction was panic as we have gone through significant changes since the early (2011) attestation by the hospital and was fearful of not being able to provide adequate documentation backing up our claim. I immediately contacted Jim Tate as I recognized him as a leader, author and advocate of the EHR program required by the government. Jim's knowledge and comprehensive study of the requirments set forth by CMS were instrumental in helping us achieve a favorable outcome in the audit." Hospital CEO

As of June 1, 2013 it is estimated that more than 300,000 health care providers have received payments totally over $14.6 billion for participating in the CMS Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. The Federally funded incentive based initiative was created in 2009 to encourage the adoption of health information technology by hospitals and other health care providers.

A robust audit program is currently underway to assure that recipients of the EHR incentives have fully met all requirements of eligibility. If a provider is found to be ineligible for received incentives, the payments must be returned. The annual EHR payment for even small hospitals can easily exceed $1 million and the total amount must be returned based on failed audit. CMS plans to initiate audits on a minimum of 5% of those that attest for the incentives.

Jim Tate, President of EMR Advocate, Inc., has emerged as a leader in the mitigation of EHR Incentive Audits. Tate, who has worked with over 200 EHR vendors on their certification projects, authored the first step by step manual for providers explaining the EHR Incentive Program, The Incentive Roadmap. He presents nationally on the CMS EHR Incentive Program, Certified Technology, Meaningful Use, and Audits. Jim is uniquely qualified to understand the nuances of issues related to avoiding and preparing for an incentive audit.

Audit related educational resources, webinars, and documents are available at EMR Advocate. Jim Tate may be contacted through the website.