New Maryland law requires insurers to encourage EHR adoption by providers
Patient Safety Monitor Insider
May 27, 2009
Maryland became the first state to require private insurers to encourage health providers to use electronic health records (EHR), reports The Baltimore Sun. Maryland insurers will have to offer some sort of monetary award to providers who use an EHR by 2011. Those providers not using an EHR by 2015 will face penalties. The bill also paved the way for the creation of a statewide health information exchange.
The financial incentive for healthcare providers to use EHRs is needed in some cases because the cost of implementing an EHR can be thousands of dollars. Some smaller practices cannot afford this and thus far have chosen not to move to an electronic system.
