EMR Financial Aid by H.R. 3014

Healthcare Information Technology and Electronic Medical Records (EMR), courtesy of House Resolution 3014

The US Congress, returning to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, September 8, will most certainly focus on the developing storm of healthcare related issues and its many moving parts. One particular piece of legislation that should get a quick pass, if there remains any business-sense on Capitol Hill.

H.R. 3014, introduced by Rep. Kathleen Dahlkemper (D-Pa.) and co-sponsored by seven Democratic members of the House of Representatives, seeks to amend the Small Business Act to allow loan guarantees so eligible professionals in solo and small group practices can purchase health IT such as ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS (EMR) that demonstrates "meaningful use." A final definition of “meaningful use” is due by Spring 2010, developed by the Certification Committee for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT).
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has earmarked $18 billion of the adoption of Electronic Medical Records by physicians by 2014. Estimates hold that nearly 25% of the $2.4 billion US healthcare system is wasted through inefficiencies caused by current paper-based medical record keeping.
If passed, the Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act, which calls for loans of up to $350,000 for solo practitioners and $2 million for small group practices, would be overseen by the Small Business Administration. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) supports the bill, which was referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Representative Dahlkemper chairs the Subcommittee on Regulations and Healthcare.
H.R. 3014 is a measure that offers financial leverage for small practices to offset upfront costs for EMR hardware and software, training, office reengineering and workflow disruption. It's an easy bill for the House, Senate and President Obama to get behind.
The two major factors causing doctors apprehension to adopting EMR are cost and the disruption of moving from established paper based record keeping to an electronic format.
To qualify for “meaningful use” of health IT, providers' IT systems need to be doing data collection in 2011. Reimbursement bonuses under the ARRA of 2009 begin in 2011, as well. Doctors are encouraged to adopt EMR now, and the single practitioners and small practice physicians need the immediate help that H.R. 3014 can provide.