An undertaking of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that reimburses eligible professionals and hospitals for adopting or upgrading to a certified electronic health record (EHR) system. Under Medicare, eligible professionals include physicians, dental surgeons and chiropractors; Medicaid also includes nurses, midwives, dentists and physician assistants and excludes doctors of podiatry and optometry. Various reporting, registration and attestation dates were scheduled at different times beginning October 2010 and ending February 2012.
Medicare vs. Medicaid
The Program treats Medicare and Medicaid providers differently with regard to payment amounts. In addition, by 2015, Medicare providers who do not show meaningful use of their systems will receive adjustments in their Medicare reimbursements. However, there are no adjustments for Medicaid providers.
Medicare Enrollment in PECOS
In order to obtain payments, Medicare providers must be enrolled in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (see
PECOS). See
meaningful use,
EHR and
healthcare IT.