Though a relaxation of the so-called Stark law was expected to spur hospitals to help physicians buy electronic medical records, a new study finds hospitals are moving slowly and cautiously on that score.
The Center for Studying Health System Change, a nonpartisan policy research organization, released the findings of its study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on Thursday.
"While hospitals have strategic incentives to provide support, particularly to tie referring physicians to their institution, the effects of the regulatory changes on physician EMR adoption will ultimately depend both on hospitals' willingness to provide support and physicians' acceptance of hospital assistance," said Joy M. Grossman, senior researcher and coauthor of the study with Genna Cohen, an a research assistant at the center.
The federal physician self-referral and anti-kickback laws are intended to prevent hospitals from offering financial incentives to physicians in return for patient referrals-hospitals
Under the exceptions passed in August 2006, hospitals can subsidize up to 85 percent of the upfront and ongoing costs of EMR software and related information technology support services for physicians.
Physicians must pay the full cost of any hardware, and the exceptions are scheduled to sunset on Dec. 31, 2013, when physicians must assume any ongoing EMR costs.
A few hospitals in the study had begun small-scale, phased rollouts of subsidized EMRs, but the burden of other ongoing hospital IT projects, budget limitations and lack of physician interest were among the factors impeding hospital action, according to the study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Have exceptions to the anti-back and physician self-referral laws prompted your hospital or healthcare system to help physicians adopt electronic medical records? Send your comments to Editor Bernie Monegain at bernie.monegain@medtechpublishing.com.