Borderland doctor concerned about HITECH Act penalties
How would you like to have all your medical records at your fingertips?
The HITECH Act signed into law in 2009 is still being implemented today, and you may soon have to log into a patient portal online so your doctor won’t be penalized. The law promises convenience and flexibility, whether you want it or not. It requires doctors not only to use certified electronic health records, but requires patients to access them online.
“Some of our patients are elderly, don’t have e-mail addresses, they don’t get on the Internet,” El Paso cardiologist Juan Escobar said. “We’re being punished because they don’t get on the internet.” Escobar said more than a quarter-million doctors across the U.S. lost 1 percent of their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements this year for not meeting the requirements of stage one of the law.
His office complied, but now he’s worried about what’s next.
Escobar told ABC-7 that stage two of the law requires 5 percent of a practice’s patients to view, download or transmit their medical records to a third party.
Some see the shift from paper to the Web as a good thing. Others told ABC-7 that they worry that elderly and low-income patients without regular internet access might make the law a tough challenge.
Escobar wants the law to change before the penalties get even stiffer. As president of the El Paso County Medical Society, Escobar said a significant number of solo and small-group Borderland physicians are being unfairly affected by the 1 percent Medicare and Medicaid cuts this year.
