By JONATHAN BUSH

I have heard from our sales force (and at more than one cocktail party) that most hospitals and practices around the country are focused on Electronic Medical Records (EMR) these days and not so much on medical billing or Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) now because they want to “Do EMR first.”

But what if you are doing EMR first for revenue cycle reasons?

Isn’t the bonus money offered for “Meaningful Use” of an EMR the main driver behind the rush to implement them?  And isn’t the rush intensified by the threat of reduced Medicare rates for those who don’t “meaningfully use” health information???

Okay, so how will you get the incentive money?  My guess is that you will claim to the Feds—through the attestation process—that you are a meaningful user, right?  Claim it?  Like as in file a claim?

I don’t care if it’s MU, PQRI, BTE, or LFG for Do-Re-Mi, if you are going to be glad you moved to EMR, it’s going to be because you’re able to include clinical information in your medical billing system! If you don’t have this in mind from the get-go, you will lose LOTS and LOTS of money on your choice to do “EMR First.”Continue reading…