Hospitals and doctors are chasing the money

Hospitals and physician practices across the country have collected $653 million in federal government incentives so far for adopting electronic medical record systems, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In his blog, Business Courier James Ritchie reported that Greater Cincinnati providers, who stand to reap $75 million in the programs through 2015, are chasing the money, but are for the most part still early in the application process. The funding for electronic records is just one component of a broad national push for quality improvement in health care that is affecting how Greater Cincinnati physicians work, Ritche reported Friday. Doctors and hospital administrators here are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare for an era where much of their reimbursement will depend on how well they're caring for patients, not just on how much care they provide.