e-MDs and Delmarva Foundation of the District of Columbia Offer Area Clients Free Assistance in Earning Additional Quality Incentives
e-MDs and the QIO will help physicians take advantage of the PQRS incentive program.
September 15, 2011
Washington, DC — e-MDs, the provider of the nation’s most highly rated electronic health record (EHR), and Delmarva Foundation of the District of Columbia (DFDC), the federally designated Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) in the District of Columbia, are working together to offer e-MDs users in the District free assistance with earning incentives under the Physician’s Quality Reporting System (PQRS) for 2011 and 2012.
As a public service pursuant to their contract with the federal government, DFDC will work together with e-MDs to assist e-MDs users interested in reporting selected preventive care measures under the PQRS program in the following ways:
- Enable EHR functionality needed to conduct PQRS EHR reporting
- Identify exactly where and how to record specific data elements for each preventive care measure
- Establish workflows to allow efficient and consistent data capture
- Develop routine reports that allow monthly monitoring of PQRS measures
- Implement a continuous quality improvement program to improve performance rates
- Submit data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to receive incentive payments
- Share best practices and expertise from topic experts (e.g., (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and physician specialists) on new developments in prevention services
- Provide assistance based on practice needs
Consistent with national healthcare goals to expand EHR use and functionality, CMS is encouraging providers to begin reporting PQRS using the EHR option. e-MDs users are in a unique position to participate in this initiative because Solution SeriesTM is one of only 27 EHR systems qualified to report PQRS using the EHR option in 2011. While PQRS reporting can be daunting and meticulous, e-MDs and DFDC will lead physicians through the necessary steps to ensure successful reporting. PQRS is important to providers who have successfully implemented a qualified EHR, offering financial incentives for their participation.
“The upcoming QIO 10th Scope of Work brings exciting opportunities for physicians to receive help from DFDC with many CMS incentive programs,” said Brenda Gentles, Director, Quality Improvement Programs for DFDC. “When effectively implemented, quality processes, measurement, monitoring and improvement become extremely motivating to the entire healthcare team. EHRs augment these processes and empower physicians to better understand their practices by delivering real-time information.”
“We are pleased to offer our clients in the District of Columbia the benefit of free assistance for earning incentives along with DFDC.” stated Michael Stearns, MD, President and CEO of e-MDs, Inc. “We intend for our customers to reap all the possible benefits of EHR implementation and Meaningful Use, be it improved patient care, streamlined billing procedures or financial rewards from the government. DFDC is an organization committed to helping clients realize those same advantages.”
To begin working with DFDC and e-MDs to report PQRS measures to CMS, contact Brenda Gentles at IHPC@dfmc.org or call 1-888-301-7894.
For more information on CMS incentive programs, please visit www.cms.gov.
About e-MDs
e-MDs is a leading developer of integrated electronic health records and practice management software for physician practices and enterprises. Founded and actively managed by physicians, the company is an industry leader for usable, connected software that enables physician productivity and clinical excellence. e-MDs software has received continual top rankings in physician and industry surveys, including those conducted by the Family Practice Management EHR Physician Satisfaction Survey and KLAS. For more information, please visit www.e-mds.com, www.facebook.com/emdsehr, and twitter.com/#!/emds.
About DFDC
Delmarva Foundation of the District of Columbia (DFDC) is the Quality Improvement Organization for the District of Columbia. DFDC is under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to improve the quality of health care for the District of Columbia’s Medicare beneficiaries. DFDC provides a range of services, including the development of interventional processes, convening healthcare organizations and stakeholders, fostering the spread of clinical or community practices that improve patient safety and healthcare delivery, and lessening the healthcare disparities that exist in our healthcare system.