This is in reference to Melissa Heyboer’s article, “The $44,000 question,” which appeared in Issue 13, 2010. The following is Steven J. Kraus’, DC, DIBCN, CCSP, FASA, FICC, responses in their entirety.

Question 1: How will this affect the chiropractic office? i.e., do you think this program is beneficial?

A: The purpose of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act incentive is to encourage providers to adopt an EHR within their practice. And the benefits of EHR adoption are undeniable?both for the profession and individual DCs.

Individuals DCs benefit from an EHR through reduced expenses and increased productivity for themselves and their staff. An EHR can also help ensure DCs get paid for the services they perform. And professional documentation as a result of an EHR helps justify the necessity of care according to the standards of modern day rules.

Mass EHR adoption by the profession will help establish chiropractic as a modern profession, especially as we interact with third-party payers and other providers. It will show our willingness to collaborate with the healthcare community for improved patient care. DCs can participate in their state’s Health Information Exchange and share patient data with other provider types. And that’s a great way to demonstrate outcomes. Specialists and general MDs are going to see the effectiveness of chiropractic care. We know chiropractic works, yet we struggle with a methodology to demonstrate outcomes. With an EHR, we have that methodology to gain more market share.

Question 2: What do chiropractor’s need to take advantage of this incentive? How much will it cost, as far as time and money, to implement?

A: In order to be eligible for up to $44,000, DCs need to adopt a certified EHR and demonstrate that they’re using that EHR in a meaningful way. It’s important to note the use of the word “certified,” because in order to be eligible, a DC must be using an EHR that’s been certified by the government. Future Health, among other software companies, will begin the certification process in the 4th quarter 2010.

Secondly, in order to collect incentives, DCs must demonstrate that they’re using their EHR in a “meaningful way.” The meaningful use guidelines were released July 13, 2010, by CMS. Basically, DCs must meet approximately 13 of the 15 “core” items, with exclusions related to e-prescribing. Additionally, DCs must meet approximately 4 of the additional 10 “menu-set” items rather than 5 due to exclusions for DC’s.

The cost of implementing an EHR will vary widely depending on the software provider you choose. Future Health recently released Future Health eConnect, which includes all the basics for EHR and practice management implementation for free. Then DCs can choose to customize their software for their practice with affordable eConnect Apps for things