The world of electronic medical records is suddenly becoming an extremely big business. Now more than ever, people within the medical industry are understanding exactly what electronic medical records software can really offer them. Although the software has been available for a decade or more, it is only really now that people are realizing the huge benefits it offers and exactly how it can help to increase the capacity of medical facilities throughout the country. In terms of an essential tool to help boost the medical industry on the whole, this is certainly it. This is just one of the reasons why the Government have introduced a EMR mandate to help increase the profile of the software and to try and get it into as many facilities as possible.
Obama is certainly a true believer in the software, which is why is has suggested that all medical facilities should have converted into digital/electronic format by 2014 at the very latest. This will of course, be helped along by the fact that more and more medical facilities are now following the EMR mandate and are looking to ensure that they make the most out of the tools that are on offer to them. Most physicians now realize that this tool can act as a helper or assistant and therefore, can save them thousands and thousands of dollars every single year. More and more physicians are realizing this every single day and as they do, the medical industry grows considerably.
So, what are the Government really doing as part of the EMR mandate to ensure that as many facilities come on board as possible? The reality is that the Government has already taken drastic steps to ensure that medical facilities throughout the country can get on board and start making the most out of the software. One of the main things they are doing is introducing the incentive to start incorporating software into their every day routines.
The Government is now offering funding of up to $44,000 or the lesser value of the software in order to get as many medical facilities using it as possible. Obviously this funding will not just go to anyone and each individual medical facility will have to prove to the Government that they are worthy of the grant. They can do this by going through the 90 day assessment period, which will be the Government assessing whether or not the software is getting put to good use, or whether it is simply being wasted.
The Government require each medical facility to have certified software rather than just software that has been produced by any developer. Obviously the Government is investing a lot of cash into this scheme and each medical facility they invest in can cost in excess of $40,000, which is certainly not a small amount of cash. They need to ensure that the software that they are funding is of a certain level and is not simply a piece of software that is going to be wasted, as this cash could have been used elsewhere to much better affect, rather than being wasted on a medical facility that is simply not going to make the most of it.
Conclusion
The EMR mandate is designed for medical facilities, to try and help them to develop their establishment in the long term to a point where they can really service a much higher level of patients. Not only will they be able to service more patients, but when they do offer patient care, it is likely to be at a much higher level, which means everyone involved is going to be a winner.