BOSTON – The announcement that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has decided against requiring physicians to implement electronic medical records to participate in its bonus program created a small firestorm when it was reported in the American Medical News in March.
The announcement is misleading because BCBSMA has never imposed a technology requirement for its pay-for-performance program, said Robert Mandel, MD, vice president of health services.
BCBSMA will, however, require hospitals to implement Computer-Based Provider Order Entry (CPOE) by 2012 to participate. And that decision was bolstered by a February study, conducted by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and the New England Healthcare Institute, that demonstrated CPOE’s value.
“CPOE has a strong ROI with benefits that accrue substantially to hospitals,” Mandel said. “It’s so important for us it makes sense to make it a requirement for our incentive program.”
Mandel emphasized BCBSMA’s long-standing commitment to EMRs, including funding the Massachusetts e-Health Collaborative’s EMR implementation in three communities. The current financial and workflow challenges of EMR implementation are not lost on the Blues plan, which did not want to create hardships for its physicians by making it a requirement at this point.
Catherine Peper, vice president of health IT for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, agreed, noting health plans recognize the initial productivity and revenue losses associated with any automation project. BCBSFLA’s Recognizing Physician Excellence program incorporates various technology options to incentivize providers.
“The evidence is on the side of EMRs,” she said, adding that EMR adoption will continue to rise because of the ability to capture critical data in digital form.
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield’s reward program is also not specifically tied to EMRs. Recognizing the differences between small and large provider groups, CareFirst offers providers choices to earn points toward reimbursement.
While EMRs are not a requirement for participation in WellPoint’s P4P programs, the health plan helps physicians implement EMRs through incentives and participation in pilots and programs that give physicians health IT tools at no cost.
“We believe EMRs are a critical tool to improving health care quality,” said Charles Kennedy, MD, vice president of health information technology. “The reduction of paperwork is helping to prevent medical errors and electronic intensive care units catch potential health failures before they happen.”